Pharmaniaga’s halal vaccine facility in the works

KUALA LUMPUR – Pharmaniaga Bhd is set to produce its own halal vaccines in four to five years.

Deputy managing director Mohamed Iqbal Abdul Rahman said marketing such a vaccine worldwide has great potential.

“We will produce our own vaccine after undergoing various preparatory programmes,” he told the company’s online briefing of its third quarter results and financial performance today.

Iqbal said the halal vaccine project is making headway, with approval received for the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine initiated with the Serum Institute of India Private Ltd, a leading Indian pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.

Meanwhile, managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said the development of the world’s first halal vaccine facility will be completed by 2022.

“We expect the facility in Puchong, Selangor, to be the first halal vaccine facility in Malaysia,” he said.

On another development, Zulkarnain said preparations for the fill-and-finish process of the Covid-19 vaccine are progressing well.

Pharmaniaga expects the Covid-19 vaccine, which is currently undergoing clinical trials in various countries, to be available in Malaysia in the first or second quarter of next year, he said.

“We are in a good position this year and we also hope to expand our business in the private sector in 2021,” he said.

Yesterday, Pharmaniaga said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that its net profit leapt to RM1.44 million in the third quarter ended September 30 (3Q20) from RM481,000 in 3Q19 on higher demand for protective equipment.

However, revenue declined to RM624.8 million from RM716.85 million previously. – Bernama, November 20, 2020