ALL EYES ON DUOPHARMA AND KANGER
Both seen benefiting from conditional approval for Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine
INVESTORS are expected to turn the spotlight on Duopharma Biotech Bhd and Kanger International Bhd following news that the government has added Sinopharm to its list of approved Covid-19 vaccines.
Duopharma has the rights to distribute the Sinopharm vaccine in Malaysia while Kanger has signed an initial agreement with the Sabah government to procure and import the same vaccine.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced last Friday that Duopharma had been given conditional registration approval for the China-manufactured vaccine.
The announcement came after Duopharma shares ended the day six sen, or 1.97 per cent, lower at RM2.98 for a market value of RM2.1 billion.
Kanger closed unchanged at seven sen last Friday for a market capitalisation of RM195.73 million.
Some market observers described the Sinopharm decision as a “jackpot” for Duopharma.
The company had previously also entered into an agreement with the government for the supply of 6.4 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.
The Russian vaccine maker re
portedly said late last month it expected to receive approval from the World Health Organisation within two months.
Duopharma said in a statement late on Friday approval for the Sinopharm vaccine — an inactivated virus vaccine registered under the name COVILO Suspension for Injection Covid-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated — was granted to a subsidiary.
“The conditional registration approval requires continued data
gathering on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine as well as monitoring and evaluation based on the latest data on a regular basis. This is to ensure the benefit over risk comparison for the said vaccine remains positive,” it said.
Malaysia had also granted conditional approval to the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by United States drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in Belgium.
The Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme now has six vaccine types in its portfolio, which are from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Cansino, Sinopharm and J&J.
The Sinopharm and Janssen approvals come a day after the Health Ministry said it would stop administering the Sinovac vaccine once its supplies end as it has a sufficient number of other vaccines for its vaccination programme.