Ch’ng Kien Peng, executive director of Xepa-Soul Pattinson, offers insights on the dynamic healthcare industry in Malaysia and the new government’s key role in supporting the local industry. He also details Xepa-Soul Pattinson’s strong footprint in the country as well as the company’s geographic expansion plans outside of Malaysia.   Can you please introduce the company to our international readers?   Xepa-Soul Pattinson was established 50 years ago by two Malaysian pharmacists and we are now one of the leading producers of off-patent drugs in the country and a subsidiary of the Apex Healthcare Group. We employ over 400 Malaysians who work together for our 10,000 customers which include doctors, hospitals and pharmacists. At the moment, the company mainly focuses on the development, manufacturing and marketing of products. The company was built on five core values, starting with leadership and pioneering spirit. Indeed, we strongly encourage employees to challenge themselves and accomplish missions they never did before. We also believe in integrity, respect, continuous improvement and innovation which can be seen in our daily operations. For example, we are always making effort to bring the company to the highest standards and in September 2017, we obtained the EU-GMP certifications for our current manufacturing plant and we are now looking at getting the accreditation for our upcoming plant SPP Novo to take the company to higher levels. Innovation is another fundamental pillar. We believe in Innovation, not only innovating our products and processes but also our business model and management styles. We also strongly support our employees by providing them meaningful career paths and guide them along the way until they succeed in their career.   How has the company been evolving over the years? We have always strived to be pioneers in our sector. 15 years ago, Xepa-Soul Pattinson was the first company in Malaysia to introduce the 90 ml and 120 ml packaging for cough syrups. With our years of experience, we are now the leader in cough syrup for the private market and are aiming to maintain this position. Moreover, we have established our focus on therapeutic areas such as cardio-vascular and respiratory therapies as well as cream and ointment treatment for skin and eye-drops.

We have always strived to be pioneers in our sector