KUCHING, June 14 — The first batch of inactivated Covid-19 vaccine which was developed by the Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co Ltd (SZKT) has arrived in Malaysia to be used for Phase 3 clinical trial carried out by a private company.

Senator Jaziri Alkaf Abdillah Suffian who witnessed the arrival of the vaccines in Kuala Lumpur said YTB Healthcare Sdn Bhd (YTBH), will roll out the Phase 3 clinical trial which enrolls 3,000 subjects who will receive the vaccine in two doses 28 days apart.

He however said the clinical trial could not be held in Sarawak due to constrains such as logistics, but he hoped a cooperation can be forged with the state government soon.

"Once the clinical trial is done, we want to work with state government to roll out vaccination quicker to achieve herd immunity as soon as possible. This is important for economic recovery well being of our people,” he said when contacted today..

The first batch of the SZKT’s vaccines arrived in Kuala Lumpur today on June 11 and received by the YTBH, a subsidiary of Yong Tai Bhd.

Jaziri in a statement issued in conjunction with the event said the arrival of the vaccine sets the path for YTBH to become the first private company to roll out their Phase 3 clinical trials in Malaysia.

This followed the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency’s (NPRA) approval for the Clinical Trial Import License (CTIL) granted on June 3.

"Given the resurgence of Covid-19 cases recently, the supply of vaccines become even more important in our fight against this pandemic.

"We believe that these clinical trials are going to be important tools in the overall armamentarium to help contain Covid-19 and make a big difference for our country and this world,” he said in the statement.

According to the statement, SZKT’s vaccine has obtained the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) granted by the Government of China.

It has also commenced its vaccination programme in China, and has been used to vaccinate millions of China citizens since June 1.

For Malaysia, the Phase 3 clinical trial will enroll 3,000 subjects, who will receive the vaccine in two doses 28 days apart.

Jaziri also mentioned that it is important that Malaysia and Sarawak in particular must achieve 80 per cent vaccination and herd immunity as soon as possible for the purpose of economic recovery and the wellbeing of the people.

"Everyone must play their role in ‘healing’ Malaysia and Sarawak in particular and that we are all in this together,” said the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Sarawak chairman.

On a long term plan, Jaziri said the federal government hopes to bring SZKT to set up a vaccine research and development centre, together with a production plant in Malaysia.

"This coincides well with this locally conducted clinical trial, where data from the locals are collected. With a vaccine production plant in Malaysia with local data available, this will equip Malaysia with the ability to face and respond to a potential future outbreak or new diseases,” he added.

Meanwhile, YTB’s chief executive officer and executive director Datuk Wira Boo Kuang Loon believed they are the only private company that is able to bring a new type of Covid-19 vaccine into Malaysia

"Once we roll out the Phase III clinical trial and with few months of accelerated data, we hope to apply for the Conditional Registration Approval, for the adoption of the Vaccine.”

"We hope for more volunteers to sign up with this trial, as more data collected will expedite the trial and ultimately get Malaysians back to normalcy through herd immunity,” he added. — Borneo Post Online