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in 2021 . In the meantime , we are negotiating for manufacturing and distribution rights of their drugs for Southeast Asia .”
Touching on Covid-19 vaccination , Wan Amir-Jeffery said : “ It is imperative for us to ensure that vaccination or immunisation is widespread , sharing information about the safety aspects and the efficacy aspects of vaccination is critical .
“ There are various technologies , engines and processes in the development of vaccines . Certainly , these are all critical technologies . The importance of sharing that information with the different stakeholders and the public at large is also vital .”
Shamie Zainal , Director of Emerging Markets Policy and Public Affairs , Malaysia / Brunei / Pakistan of Pfizer Malaysia said every action Pfizer had taken over the past years aimed to transform the organisation into an agile scientific powerhouse .
They want to be capable of addressing the world ’ s most devastating diseases .
“ But we are utmost for the biggest challenge at the end of the day .”
Due to the dire need to vaccinate as many people as possible , she revealed that Pfizer continued to explore innovative plans and improve its facilities to deliver more doses to the world , including low-income countries .
“ We hope to influence the biopharmaceutical industry that we have at the moment .”
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Mohamed Iqbal , Deputy Managing Director of Pharmaniaga , then touched on the digitalisation aspect within the pharmaceutical industry .
He agreed that IR 4.0 facilitated the manufacturing sector during the pandemic as it helped monitor the operation .
However , Mohamed Iqbal argued that there was a possibility of third party hacks , which could damage the whole system if it ’ s not done correctly .
Way forward for halal pharmaceuticals
Shamie mentioned that in 2020 , Pfizer developed a special vaccine division and announced the Centre of Excellence Network globally .
This initiative provides collaboration programmes with academic institutions that will look into real-world epidemiologic research .
“ If we look into Malaysia ’ s flora and fauna in terms of its halal ecosystem under the context of vaccines , then we should look at this opportunity . Under the banner of Centre of Excellence , both local and international ( players ) can collaborate at the end of the day to drive this sector .
“ We also looked at equitable access . It ’ s always been an industry that has been earmarked in terms of having high priced items . Biosimilars is one of the areas that we can look into to allow much lower cost-saving treatment options .”
Wan Amir-Jeffery added : “ Anything
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in pharmaceuticals takes time .
“ You have to go out and create a business model that works for you as a company , within the market that you ’ re operating in , within the constraints that you have .
“ It ’ s important for us because , in our corporate strategy , halal is a foundation pillar for us , apart from human capital . It is the basis for us to bring new innovative technologies and products and have them certified as halal .”
He emphasised the importance of having the correct information on halal pharmaceuticals . Wan-Amir Jeffery mentioned many pharmaceutical players were understanding the requirements of producing halal pharmaceutical products .
“ Halal pharmaceuticals is still regarded as an emerging sector particularly for the prescription products ,” said Wan Amir-Jeffery .
Mohamed Iqbal then opined that the framework for halal pharmaceuticals was already in place , and companies just had to ride on the opportunities and the incentives .
“ It ’ s about changing the mindset of everyone within the organisation that halal is part of your life . It ’ s no longer to comply with MS 2424 .
“ Talking about halal , we should not see the 1.9 billion ( Muslim population ) as our marketplace . The marketplace is 7.8 billion people ,” said Mohamed Iqbal , highlighting this is the best time to move halal as a mainstream product . – Xtra
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There are various technologies , engines and processes in the development of vaccines . Certainly , these are all critical technologies . The importance of sharing that information with the different stakeholders and the public at large is also vital .”
— Wan Amir-Jeffery
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