KUALA LUMPUR: Pharmaniaga Bhd said its revenue soared 82% to RM1.18bil in the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, boosted by the sales of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines to the government.

       Net profit rose 37% to RM13.7mil in the three-month period, the company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday. Pharmaniaga has declared a second interim dividend of 1.5 sen a share.

       The group has supplied 12.4 million doses of the vaccine to the government, with the last batch shipped out on July 21.

       Last week, Pharmaniaga announced it has secured an additional order from the government for another six million doses.

       “The group has submitted approval for the Sinovac vaccine to be used for the adolescent population in Malaysia to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency and upon approval, it will create a demand for six million doses,” it said.

       Recently, the Sinovac vaccine was approved for the adolescent population aged 12-17 years in Indonesia and China.

       In addition, six countries are currently evaluating the use of Sinovac for adolescents, due to the increasing Covid-19 infectivity rate among children.

       Meanwhile, a new study in China suggested that a third shot of the Sinovac vaccine administered six months or more after the second dose will boost immunity against the deadly virus.

       “The group expects Sinovac to offer booster shots soon, especially for vulnerable and high-risk groups of the population in order to maintain protection against the virus, particularly from new variants,” it said.