@Halal July/August 2022 | Page 39

July-August 2022

15

@ HalalXtra

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

markets in Malaysia .”

According to Dr Azizi , adding halal on top of the current good manufacturing practice ( GMP ) standards in the pharmaceutical industry will help manufacturers to go beyond just the quality , safety and efficacy aspects of the pharmaceutical products as the halal part emphasises hygiene .

“ In other words , when we focus on halal pharmaceuticals , we add one additional quality beyond the current GMP standard , which is hygienic ,” added Dr Azizi , saying that Malaysia has robust procedures and standards when it comes to halal pharmaceuticals .

BOOSTING BRAND VISIBILITY

At the beginning of the company ’ s establishment , Dr Azizi said the team decided to focus on pharmaceutical products . However , after reviewing some product developments , the drugs under the segment required more than a year to apply for NPRA registration .

“ So within those 12 months , if we wait for one or two years for the completion , we would lose a significant amount of market share . In that aspect , the team decided that we should come up with various products that could be developed within three and six months .

“ Of course , the share is not that significant . But , since many people still do not know about Jardin Pharma ’ s existence , we need to penetrate the market by showing our capability to produce products . That ’ s why we have agreed after six months of the company ’ s establishment to come up with the vitamin gummy ,” shared Dr Azizi , highlighting that the company had to put something in the market to establish their brand .

He emphasised that making Jardin Pharma visible in the industry was the company ’ s first business strategy . At the same time , he shared that the company was still interested in other products and segments .

“ Our immediate plan is to be listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2026 . So , we are actively expanding our main company with various potential subsidiaries . That ’ s why we have to devise a strategy that everyone must acquire more shares from the market and expand the business in different ways . Later , we will merge and eventually focus on the pre-initial public offering ( IPO ) stages until we are ready to be listed , probably in three to four years .”

PENETRATING THE GLOBAL MARKET

Dr Azizi pointed out that a brand ’ s visibility could come from different angles . He also shared that Jardin Pharma was invited to visit some potential international partners in the last few months .

“ We look forward to partners and collaborators that can help make our brand well presented and market our products . For us to penetrate different countries , we must have high-quality products .

“ Based on my experience as a technical advisor for PT Dexa Medica in Indonesia , I was asked by the company to look into different practices in the Southeast Asian region , including Manila , Thailand , Laos , Cambodia , etc . From that , I found there were certain areas that we could further penetrate . However , some local country requirements can limit the penetration of a

company to certain countries .”

He revealed that in the past few months , Jardin Pharma ’ s marketing team had done various things to understand the market in different sectors . Jardin Pharma is also open to collaboration and partnership opportunities that align with the company ’ s focus , said Dr Azizi .

STRENGTHENING JARDIN PHARMA ’ S SUBSIDIARIES

When asked how Jardin Pharma differentiates itself from competitors , Dr Azizi said : “ We focus more on various developments across the group .”

He explained that the company focused on strengthening its marketing and trading platform . The team established online and offline marketing to ensure Jardin Pharma can capture online and offline markets .

“ This is not the typical practice for the pharmaceutical industry in Malaysia because most of the pharmaceutical companies in this country rely on government tenders . If the companies are members of the Malaysian Organisation

of Pharmaceutical Industries ( MOPI ), they ’ re the producers and manufacturers mainly for government tenders . Of course , this is required . At the same time , they also produce pharmaceutical products for overseas markets .

“ So , in this aspect , we have both . We will use our subsidiary , XORIX Sdn Bhd , mainly to produce generic products . At the same time , we will not only focus on that segment . We are going to use our existing company for cosmetic products , food supplements , functional food , etc . We understand these segments are open even though the markets are highly-competitive .” – Halal Xtra

TOUCHING on the challenges in the halal pharmaceutical industry , Prof . Dr Azizi Ayob , the co-founder and business advisor of Jardin Pharma , highlighted that the industry must have more trained personnel who understand the halal manual .

“ When it comes to the halal manual , it has to be in line with the product development requirements . So , you need to understand the requirements for you to comply with . For example , from the R & D perspective , if you don ’ t have the materials that can comply with halal , the product will not be considered halal at the end of the day .

“ The certifying body like Jakim and others also need to understand that when we talk about halal , we can apply it to what extent . So , it comes from the industry and the regulators .”

Dr Azizi pointed out another challenge in the halal pharmaceutical industry : acquiring the raw materials required to produce advanced pharmaceutical products .