Covid-19 is not going away and the world will need to learn to live with this virus, there is already discussions on a booster shot to strengthen the human immune system including development of the next generation vaccines. To ensure local supply is readily available and not depend on foreign nations, many countries are looking to set up their facility in producing future Covid-19 vaccines.
Malaysia is also taking this important step, Sirim Bhd has committed to cooperate with local institutions on studies for the preliminary stages of Covid-19 vaccine development. Sirim group president and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Ahmad Sabirin Arshad said the three institutes involved were the Institute of Medical Research, Universiti Putra Malaysia and the Veterinary Research Institute in Ipoh, Perak, while Sirim would help carry out testing for the vaccine produced.
Sirim is the main agency responsible in testing and approving products distributed in the country be it smartphones, motorbike helmets to lightbulbs, they will all have to pass the vigorous lab tests before making into public space. Likewise, for the vaccines development the agency will play an important role of providing assurance of local vaccines to comply with international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing process.
According to CEO Sirim has the facility to conduct tests at the Industrial Biotechnology Research Centre (IBRC) which had met the test laboratory criteria required by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
The agency has previously carried out various stages of testing on the Sinovac vaccine to confirm the process as well as ensure the final product was both safe and effective for recipients. The testing involved the need for complete facilities and a laboratory with Good Laboratory Practices status.
This was then supported with data for the verification process and quality inspection for the fill and finish (bottling) of vaccines, while the NPRA would check the data in detail before deciding on whether to approve the vaccine or not.
