The two-year MoU establishes a basis of cooperation and collaboration between both parties on research and development (R&D), manufacturing, and commercialisation of innovative pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products, said Pharmaniaga in a Bursa Malaysia filing today.
CSPC Holdings is mainly involved in two business segments – finished drugs and bulk drugs – with its core development strategy resting on innovative drugs.
It currently has a strong product portfolio in the therapeutic areas of nervous system disease, oncology, anti-infective and cardiovascular disease.
The group also operates an international R&D team based in Shijiazhuang, Shanghai and Beijing, in China, and the US.
“We are exploring to leverage on CSPC’s mRNA technology platform for vaccine development, and we feel that CSPC is a proven and reliable partner in this endeavour,” said Pharmaniaga executive committee chairman Ahmad Shahredzuan Shariff in a separate statement today.
“Pharmaniaga’s R&D team views CSPC’s mRNA technology platform as having significant potential, especially in the development of vaccines for diseases such as the flu, respiratory syncytial virus, zoster, HPV, and dengue,” the statement read.
On July 12, Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pharmaniaga, bagged a new contract from the government to provide logistics for medical supplies for seven years.
The contract runs from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2030. However, the contract sum was not disclosed.
Earlier this year in February, Pharmaniaga slipped into Bursa Malaysia’s Practice Note 17 (PN17) category after booking provisions of RM552.3 million for unsold Covid-19 vaccines, which resulted in negative equity on its balance sheet.
In June, the pharmaceutical group unveiled a strategic plan to chart a path towards a “resilient recovery” across its business segments. However, analysts were not convinced that the plan is sufficient to lift the group out of the PN17 category.
As at 3.52pm, Pharmaniaga’s share price was up 3.5 sen or 8.64% at 44 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM576.49 million.