KUALA LUMPUR: The 358th Drug Control Authority (DCA) meeting today approved conditional registration for Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca Solution for Injection produced in Thailand by Siam Bioscience Co Ltd.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Siam Bioscience, which is the second manufacturer of the vaccine, would be the source of AstraZeneca vaccine supply for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
He said the DCA had, on March 2, approved conditional registration for the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by MedImmune Pharma BV in the Netherlands, which supplies to European countries.
“The Malaysian government procures AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine via two methods, namely by dealing directly with the manufacturer and also through COVAX facility and has begun receiving the vaccine since April.
“The supply from Siam Bioscience Co Ltd is expected to increase vaccination rate under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme faster,” he said in a statement here today.
Dr Noor Hisham said the approval for conditional registration required the product registration holder, AstraZeneca Sdn Bhd, to submit additional and up-to-date data on the vaccine from time to time to ensure the quality, effectiveness and safety were always updated and the benefit over risk comparison of the vaccine remained positive.
He said the Ministry of Health would always improve the level of public health in combating the pandemic through the procurement of vaccine supplies that had been evaluated in terms of quality, safety and effectiveness by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency and approved by the DCA. — Bernama
