PETALING JAYA: Solution Group Bhd’s (SGB) wholly-owned subsidiary, Solution Biologics Sdn Bhd (Solbio), is expecting approval to sell the Convidecia vaccine in the private market and administer as a booster shot soon.
Solbio is the Asean manufacturing partner of CanSino Biologics Inc’s single-dose Convidecia vaccine for Covid-19.
SGB deputy group managing director Datuk Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal said as soon as the group gets the Health Ministry’s (MoH) approval, it would expand its vaccine distribution to the private market, such as hospitals, clinics, the corporate and manufacturing sectors in Malaysia.
“We also hope to get the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) approval for Convidecia to be used as a booster shot in November.
“Once it is approved, it will be an additional option for those who originally received a two-dose inactivated vaccine as the Jiangsu study shows that Convidecia is safe and highly efficacious as a booster,” he said in a statement.
Solbio, under an agreement with the MoH, is supplying 3.5 million doses of Convidecia. To date, it has completed the delivery of 2.6 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
With the completion of the MoH contract, the sales from the private sector, and the contribution from other business segments, SGB said it would expect a turnover of approximately RM300mil, with a profit margin of 10% to 15% for the financial year 2021.
SGB said Solbio had submitted data showing the efficacy of the Convidecia vaccine as a booster shot to the NPRA, demonstrating that taking a Convidecia booster shot six months after the first dose showed an increase of at least eight times in antibody levels.
The submission of the data to the NPRA was in preparation for the vaccine to be authorised as a booster shot.
“The technical working group from the special committee for ensuring access to the Covid-19 vaccine supply recommends the use of different vaccines to boost vaccine efficacy as practised by other countries,” Mohd Nazlee said.