The latest pharma news from the Asia-Pacific region, including upcoming IPOs for Prestige Biopharma and HH&L Acquisition; logistics challenges for COVID-19 vaccine distributors; and Moderna’s CMO-based vaccine manufacturing strategy in Asia.
Singapore-based Prestige Biopharma prepares for IPO on the Korea Exchange
SINGAPORE-BASED Prestige Biopharma expects an implied market capitalisation of between 1.8 trillion won and 1.93 trillion won (S$2.2 billion to S$2.3 billion) in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on the Korea Exchange (KRX), the company told The Business Times.
High temperatures, remote islands pose challenges for Asian jab distributor
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-high-temperatures-remote-islands-pose.html
“Cold chain storage for vaccines is extremely important first and foremost for patient safety,” Tom Vanmolkot, Zuellig Pharma’s executive vice president for distribution and client services, told AFP. “We cannot administer vaccines that have been outside of the cold chain.”
This is particularly tricky in some countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia where temperatures often soar above 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).
Indonesia green lights China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine
Indonesia became the first country outside China to greenlight the vaccine.
Moderna Expected to Rely on CMOs in Asia for Vaccine Production
http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=57726
GC Pharma and Hanmi Pharmaceutical are cited as possible contractors. GC Pharma is one of the leading Korean vaccine producers. In October, it signed a partnership agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to participate in production of COVID-19 vaccines developed by overseas pharmaceutical companies under CEPI sponsorship.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical is considered a candidate in that it can utilize a biotech plant that can grow 20,000 liters of microorganisms. The company can produce up to one billion doses a year.
HH&L Acquisition, a SPAC targeting healthcare in Asia, files for a $300 million IPO
The company is led by Chairman Kenneth Hitchner, who spent nearly three decades at Goldman Sachs, most recently serving as CEO of Goldman Sachs in Asia Pacific Ex-Japan. He is joined by CEO and Director Richard Li, who previously served as CIO of China Great Wall AMC Holdings and CEO of Great Wall Pan Asia Asset Management.
Prudential has recently released The Pulse of Asia – The Health of Asia Barometer, a report written by The Economist Intelligence Unit that explores attitudes across Asian markets
https://www.marketing-interactive.com/prudential-study-health-state
The average score of overall health state rated by Hong Kong respondents was 69.8 (out of 100), the lowest among its counterparts in Asia, while Taiwan had an average score of 70.7 and Singapore had 74.3, ranking second and third lowest in Asia respectively.
Balancing digitalized healthcare services and data security
George Lee, Vice President at RSA securities who leads the overall RSA business across Asia Pacific shares further insights on novel complex digitized health solutions and their effective management.
