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The Health | august-September, 2020
| Local News |
Retail pharmacies
not immune to
Covid-19 outbreak
Sales at retail pharmacists are usually robust
during November, December, January and
February.
This year began on a similar note. Business
was brisk in January and February and in
fact even better than last year right up to the
Movement Control Order (MCO) on March 18
and for another three weeks into the MCO.
But it has been downhill since then. The
Edge Markets in a report said the number of
retail pharmacy outlets are already plunging
and unable to endure the pandemic.
The article stated that Berjaya Corp Bhd’s
Berjaya Pharmacy Sdn Bhd has permanently
shut three outlets — in Plaza Berjaya and
Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur
and Suria Sabah in Kota Kinabalu. For Big
Pharmacy – 35 per cent owned by private equity
firm Creador - temporarily closed its branches
in Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Forest City in Johor
because of low footfall but have since reopened.
Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS)
president Amrahi Buang confirmed that a
number of retail pharmacies have had to shut
down permanently because of Covid-19 and the
B. Braun expands testing
capabilities for healthcare
Germany headquartered medical technology
company B. Braun is expanding its portfolio of
testing capabilities for healthcare solutions in
Penang.
In a joint statement, Malaysian Investment
Development Authority (MIDA) and B. Braun
said the testing capabilities were related to
intravenous access, surgical technologies,
intravenous systems, central venous puncture
and pain control.
They said prior to the expansion, the Global
Test Centre in Penang had only supported
200,000 scientific measurements per annum for
medical devices related to intravenous access
and drug delivery systems.
Due to the proven competencies, strong
product knowledge and efficiency displayed
by the local team of Malaysian engineers, the
volume of product testing has been tripled to
more than 600,000 scientific measurements per
annum, they said.
The Global Test Centre conducts design
validation, discovery and shelf life testing, as
ensuing MCO. But the casualties are mainly
independent pharmacies.
According to Amrahi, although retail
pharmacies are categorised as essential
services, some were not able to operate during
the MCO. “Pharmacies [located within] malls,
UTCs (urban transformation centres) or
departmental stores were unable to open if the
mall/store was closed.
Amrahi said high-street retail pharmacies
make RM50,000 to RM80,000 in sales a month,
whereas those located within malls can
chalk up three times more or RM150,000 to
RM200,000.
“In the CMCO phase, there was a 30 per cent
to 35 per cent drop in sales due to restrictions
in movement and less customer traffic,” he
added.
The market performance of the community
pharmacy in 2020 remains unpredictable. Last
year, the estimated value of the community
pharmacy market was between RM5.1 billion
and RM5.9 billion.
The entire retail industry is projected to
contract by 8.7 per cent this year. — The Health
well as failure analysis; and features state-of-the
art test equipment and a fully integrated data
management system, which is crucial to ensure
the safety and efficacy of medical devices used in
the treatment of patients around the world.
MIDA Chief Executive Officer Datuk
Azman Mahmud said the Malaysian medical
device industry has showed great promise in
creating high quality employment, reinforcing
the domestic supply chain ecosystem and
generating greater export value.
“We have a strong presence of established
supporting industries conforming to world-class
standards that support the medical devices
industry in the country.
“The nation’s legacy expertise in precision
electronics has also provided our workforce
the requisite skills in quality management and
precision. We trust that these qualities draw
world leaders in healthcare including B. Braun
to continuously embrace the abundant business
opportunities in Malaysia today,” he said. — The
Health
Briefs
Puma Biotechnology’s Nerlynx
receives marketing approval
Neratinib (Nerlynx) by US’s Puma Biotechnology will
now be available in Malaysia as an extended adjuvant
treatment for patients with hormone receptor-positive,
HER2 overexpressing or HER2-amplified early-stage
breast cancer who have completed adjuvant therapy
with trastuzumab (Genentech’s Herceptin) less than a
year ago.
Puma Biotechnology said its licensing partner
Specialized Therapeutics Asia (STA) has received
marketing approval for neratinib (Nerlynx) from the
Drug Control Agency of Malaysia’s Ministry of Health.
According to Precision Oncology News, Puma and
STA entered an exclusive licensing agreement in 2017 to
commercialize Neratinib in Australia, New Zealand, and
Southeast Asia.
“The commercial strategy implemented by
Specialized Therapeutics in Australia and the successful
market entry into additional countries throughout
Southeast Asia support our commitment to expanding
access to [neratinib] to breast cancer patients around
the world,” said Puma CEO, Alan Auerbach.
“Addressing recurrence in HER2-positive breast
cancer patients remains paramount for Puma and our
global partners,” he added.
Malaysia’s population of doctors
exceeds WHO recommendation
Malaysia’s current doctor-population ratio has
surpassed and is better than one doctor for every
500 people recommended by the World Health
Organization’s (WHO), according to Health Minister
Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
Malaysia currently has 71,041 medical doctors
working in both the public and private sectors, making
for a ratio of one doctor for every 454 people.
“The ratio is indeed better than one doctor for every
500 people,” he said Adham Baba in reply to Datuk Seri
Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad during question time at the Dewan
Rakyat sitting recently.
Dzulkefly questioned on the number of doctors
serving the Ministry of Health (MoH), the doctorpopulation
ratio of Malaysia, and whether Malaysia
intends to increase the number of doctors so that it
would be ideal in line with the WHO’s recommendation
of one doctor for every 500 people.
Adham said, the total number of doctors serving the
MoH are 73 per cent, an equivalent to 51,912 registered
medical doctors. As of June 30, there were 11,059
dentists in Malaysia, making for a ratio of one dentist for
every 2,963 people, with 6,530 of them serving the MoH.
Key Alliance moves
into the medical equipment
A multi-industrial group, Key Alliance Group Berhad
(KAG) plans to raise some RM5 million through a
renounceable rights issue with warrants to fund the
diversified firm’s foray into the medical equipment
business.
The Edge Markets reported on Aug 6, 2020 that
the group has proposed a renounceable rights issue of
up to 982.21 million shares in KAG, on the basis of one
rights share for every one ordinary share held by entitled
shareholders.
A substantial portion of the proceeds raised from
the proposed rights issue with warrants is intended to
be utilised for the business expansion in relation to the
proposed diversification, repayment of bank borrowings
and working capital requirements of the group. KAG
said it intends to diversify its principal activities to
include the marketing, distribution and trading of
medical equipment, devices, and related products and
accessories.
“These includes “Medical test kit, home health
testing kit or monitoring device, electro-medical
equipment, cardiovascular, orthopaedic and in vitro
devices, diagnostic and wound care management
products, aesthetic equipment as well as personal
protective equipment including face masks and
gloves, and other medical instruments, apparatus and
appliances,” it said. — The Health