KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd's subsidiary, HS Bio Sdn Bhd, signed a heads of agreement (HoA) to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Pow Pocket Sdn Bhd (PPSB) for RM200 million.
Non-executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min said the acquisition would be a strategic move to work exclusively and strengthen the synergies with other healthcare subsidiaries.
"This is part of the continuous initiatives of HS Bio to drive its healthcare business forward and further deepen its capabilities in the health chain.
"This is in line with the government's 12th Malaysia Plan in its aim to enhance healthcare service delivery by leveraging technology, including digitalising healthcare services and improving research, development and innovation capacity," he said in a statement today.
PPSB is an investment holdings company that deals with health technologies-related business activities.
The company is currently operating Jengu, a web-based digital health engine dedicated to Covid-19 screening, vaccination, and digital health.
Other than that, PPSB also operates the ImmuPlan portal, an exclusive digital platform for public and private vaccination rollout in Johor under the guidance of the Johor Biotechnology & Biodiversity Corp.
Meanwhile, a national private vaccination programme, Immunise, was also announced during the signing ceremony today.
Immunise, the platform engine of ImmuPlan, will become an open and inclusive platform to capture the demand for booster and juvenile vaccination shots in the country.
PPSB managing director Russell Walter Boyd said the immunise works by democratising and decentralising private vaccine delivery by empowering our communities and doctors to decide on inoculation.
"The Immunise platform will cover everything from online booking and scheduling a vaccine to back-end order management, physical vaccine delivery and cold chain, refunds, reconciliation and invoicing, KPI dashboarding and reporting.
"We are now moving from adult vaccines to juvenile and booster shots, facilitating a recurring demand for both localised and personalised vaccine delivery.
"We estimate about RM10 billion worth of doses will be required in 2022 to cover the needs of the adult population in Malaysia aged above 18, juveniles aged 12-17 and migrant workers," he added.
HS Bio' unit, eMedAsia Sdn Bhd, had previously signed another collaboration agreement with PPSB to digitalise healthcare services nationwide through their respective e-commerce platforms.
The synergy of each parties' strengths will enable many more people to access vaccines, Covid-19 tests and health screenings and other health-related products and services, leveraging on their network that reaches 8,000 existing private clinics nationwide.