Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Berhad continues to be loss making however it managed to bring it down by 33.3 percent to RM4.29 million for the year, with higher revenue and lower expenses.
Income recognition from an on-going sequencing and analysis project helped to drive full year revenue which grew 87 percent to RM1.78 million from RM0.95 million before. At the same time, cost savings contributed to reducing administrative expenses by 17.7 percent.
In 2020, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in operational losses of RM6.44 million, excluding profits from the 2019 sale of its pathology laboratory group. It posted a net profit of RM17.1 million in 2020 mainly due to the impact of the MPath sale.
For the fourth quarter, its operational loss fell 19.3 percent to RM2.1 million against a loss of RM2.61 million before. The reduction in losses came despite negative revenue of RM69,000 following an adjustment due to the derecognition of certain revenue in compliance with MFRS 15.
Meanwhile, the company expects its revenue in FY2022 to improve with new income streams from distributing and administering COVID-19 vaccines and test kits to the private sector, among other activities.
“While the pandemic has posed a challenge to our core operations, it has also given us the opportunity to evolve and seize new opportunities,” said Chief Executive Officer, Sasha Nordin. In August, Malaysian Genomics teamed up with Malaysia’s largest integrated pharmaceutical group, Pharmaniaga Lifesciences to distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines to the private sector.
The company’s established network with pathology and clinical testing sectors has enabled it to partner with Pharmaniaga on vaccine distribution. These new opportunities are contributing to its growth as it lays the foundation for Malaysian Genomics’ future in healthcare. Accordingly, being a locally established cell laboratory is a definite edge, and is looking forward to work on prospects in the field of health science.
Malaysian Genomics can move back to its core areas with the commencement in its preparatory work to roll out CAR T-cell immunotherapy treatments for cancer patients. The group in 2020 diversified into biopharmaceuticals and healthcare services, beginning with the provision of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR T-cell) immunotherapy for solid cancers.
Subject to Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) certification approvals, its new laboratory is expected to be ready for operations in early FY2022.
The group also recently welcomed two notable individuals to its board as independent directors, retired Health Ministry Secretary-General Dato’ Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min and former Securities Commission board member Datuk Francis Tan Leh Kiah.