KUALA LUMPUR: Investors' spotlight is expected to train on Duopharma Biotech Bhd and Kanger International Bhd following news that the government has added Sinopharm to its list of Covid-19 vaccines.
Companies with the latest Covid-19 deals such as Duopharma and Kanger were given a shot in the arm, market observers said.
Duopharma has the rights to distribute Sinopharm here, while Kanger has signed an initial agreement with Sabah state government to procure and import the same vaccine, which is developed by China National Biotec Group Co Ltd.
Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced last Friday that Duopharma had been given conditional registration approval for the China-manufactured vaccine.
The announcement came after Duopharma shares ended the day 1.97 per cent or six sen lower at RM2.98, after hovering between RM2.95 and RM3.05, for a market value of RM2.1 billion.
Over the past one month, Duopharma had closed at a low of RM2.85 on July 13 since closing at a high of RM3.15 on June 18.
Kanger, meanwhile, closed unchanged at seven sen last Friday after being traded between seven sen and eight sen. It had a market capitalisation of RM195.73 million.
The stock was traded flat at six sen from June 22 till July 13 before rising to seven sen on July 14.
Some market observers described the Sinopharm decision as a "jackpot" for Duopharma.
This is given that the company had previously entered into an agreement with the government for the supply of 6.4 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.
The Russian vaccine maker reportedly late last month said it expected to receive approval from the World Health Organisation (WHO) within two months, and has to receive approval from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
In its statement late on Friday, Duopharma said the approval for the Sinopharm vaccine – an inactivated virus vaccine registered under the name COVILO Suspension for Injection Covid-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated - was granted to a subsidiary following an application for product registration.
"The conditional registration approval required continued data gathering on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine as well as monitoring and evaluation based on the latest data on a regular basis. This was to ensure the benefit over risk comparison for the said vaccine remains positive," it said.
Dr Noor Hisham also announced that Malaysia had granted conditional approval to the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine made by the US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and manufactured in Belgium.
Malaysia had earlier approved another batch of Janssen vaccines that had been given the greenlight for emergency use by the WHO.
With Sinopharm's inclusion, the National Immunisation Programme has a total of six types of vaccines within its portfolio, adding to the list that includes Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Cansino and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
The Sinopharm and Janssen approvals come a day after the Health Ministry said that it would stop administering the Covid-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac once its supplies end, as it has a sufficient number of other vaccines for its programme.