KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 12): Promising developments on the vaccine front have stirred investor interest in companies that venture into vaccine distribution, in hopes they will be in for bumper profits.
However, it is not clear at this juncture just how much or when these companies can cash in, given just the evaluation process alone for a vaccine to be approved for distribution and use in Malaysia will take five phases. The first phase alone — which is the checking of the vaccine dossiers or research documents — typically takes between 90 and 120 days, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).
When contacted, property developer Yong Tai Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Wira Boo Kuang Loon said the company expects to bring its Chinese partner's vaccine into Malaysia by the third quarter of this year, at the earliest, on obtaining approval from the MoH's National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA). Any vaccines or medicines to be imported into Malaysia for use here will require NPRA's approval.