KOTA BARU: Companies planning to venture into the distribution and sale of vaccines in Malaysia must first acquire the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division's (NPRA) approval.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said all vaccines, including for Covid-19, could only be used upon approval by the NPRA.
"Any vaccine, including for Covid-19, can only be used in this country once it is approved by the NPRA… The Health Ministry has no right to issue approval letters (for distribution and sale of vaccines)," he said.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre for low-risk patients (PKRC) at Pusat Tarbiah Islamiah (Putik) here, today, Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry has never issued approval letters to any company to distribute the Covid-19 vaccines.
"The recent claim by a company that it had obtained an approval letter to distribute Covid-19 vaccines has been denied by the ministry, and so far, we have not issued such a letter to any company."
The PKRC in Putik, which was opened on Jan 21, is the third such centre to be set up in Kelantan.
The centre will only house female patients.
As of now, it has 21 low-risk Covid-19 patients who are handled by 25 personnel from various agencies, including Health, Welfare and the police.
Dr Noor Hisham was commenting on a report that steel manufacturer Mestron Holdings Bhd (Mestron) signed an agreement with China-based company Zhongyu Yexing (Chengdu) Industrial Co Ltd (Zhongyu), on the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in Malaysia.
Mestron managing director Por Teong Eng was reported to have claimed that the company had obtained a clearance letter from the Health Ministry to commence negotiations and cooperation with any company from China for the importation, distribution, sale, marketing, use and application of Covid-19 vaccines in Malaysia.
In response, the ministry yesterday denied it had approved or issued letters of permission to private parties to purchase and distribute Covid-19 vaccines in Malaysia.