It comes as no surprise that Ekuinas has announced its first foray into healthcare business with its investment into Medispec Sdn Bhd, a leading local pharmaceutical and supplement product distributor, However what’s surprising is that this will be the government linked investment arms maiden entry into the medical industry, since being established in 2009.
With investment in 42 companies, Ekuinas has not explored into healthcare until now, Medispec valued at RM88.5 million, markets more than 100 pharmaceutical drugs and 30 health supplements under both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) categories. Its award-winning in-house health supplement brand included specialty products such as CoQ10 Ubiquinol, Mecobin, Lacidofil, Cognipro and Tumecap.
Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir, Chief Executive Officer of Ekuinas said, the entry into the healthcare and pharmaceutical space is timely as we look to capitalise on global megatrends and demographic shifts amid the emergence of COVID-19. Medispec reached the 35 years milestone recently and will look at its new partner to start exploring new ventures especially when healthcare is being critical during these period. According to CEO Teng Beng Lee, the company is eager to bring brands like Vitamode to the ASEAN region and with Ekuinas this possibility could be accelerated.
Ekuinas on the other hand is looking to leverage on the growing healthcare awareness amongst consumers and anticipates the post-pandemic world to see a significant shift from remedial to preventive healthcare measures. Key to the investment decision was the established distribution network Medispec has, favourable industry outlook, in-house brand with strong growth prospects and healthy product pipeline.
The government owned private equity company has undertaken cumulative investments in 42 companies since its inception in 2009, representing a total committed investment of RM4.4 billion. It has helped generate a positive impact on the broader Malaysian economy, which facilitated a total economic deployment of RM5.0 billion, together with private sector partners.
