KANGER TO MARKET COVID-19 VACCINE AS MALAYSIA-CHINA DECLARES URGENCY

Within the next four to six weeks, Kanger International Bhd will start to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine developed by a top pharmaceutical and medical group in China.

This comes after the Malaysian and Chinese governments announced today the urgency to develop and distribute the Covid-19 vaccine to curb the spread of the disease.

The disease has killed more than one million people around the world and infected over 38 million.

 Foreign Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said during a joint news conference with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that China has agreed to include Malaysia on a list of priority recipients for a Covid-19 vaccine once it is successfully developed.

 Hishammuddin said the Malaysian government is closely monitoring the development of the vaccine and said getting the vaccine is a matter of high priority for the government.

"If we want to find a way forward in dealing with Covid-19 there are only two ways into it, one is to prevent by vaccination, the other is to cure by medication," he said.

  Kanger rose from 18 sen today to 21.5 with high trading volume.

On September 26, Kanger signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Sinopharm Group Hunan Changde Medical Co Ltd to distribute the vaccine and medical equipment in the Malaysian market.

China National Biotec Group Co Ltd (CNBG), a subsidiary of Sinopharm Group has developed the Covid-19 vaccine called Vero Cell.

 Sinopharm is testing the vaccine in more than 10 countries, which includes the United Arab Emirates in a Phase 3 trial and it appears that the vaccine is safe.

 The New Straits Times reported today that Kanger aims to build its business with Chinese firms involved in the medical field, among others. 

The newspaper quoted Kanger executive director Steven Kuah who said that top in the list is to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine in Malaysia soon, and regionally from early next year.

Kuah said this will be a big boost for the pharmaceutical sector, in which the company has a presence in currently.

Kanger told Bursa Malaysia last week it is seeking to raise close to RM69 million for expansion. 

The ACE market-listed firm said it intends to pursue business expansion or future viable investment into the healthcare industry.

Kanger may also expand via mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, collaborative arrangements, business agreements in the healthcare sector.