(Taiwan) PharmaEssentia signs CoQ10 manufacturing licensing deal with Malaysia's Black Gold Global :: BiotechEast - Taiwan and China biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, ^¤å½s×, ^¤å×§ï ::

(BiotechEast staff)

14 February, 2008
PharmaEssentia Corporation, a Taiwan-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on new drug research and development, announced last week that it had signed a out-licensing agreement with Black Gold Global (BGG), allowing the Malaysian company the rights to manufacture the food and cosmetics supplement CoQ10 using PharmaEssentia's proprietary process.

PharmaEssentia president Dr. KC Lin (left) with Black Gold Global chairman Mr. Embi Yusoff, at the signing of the licensing agreement between the two companies in Taipei, Taiwan.

Growing in popularity worldwide, CoQ10 is supplement that can be found in many consumer products, and is touted as having many health-protection benefits. PharmaEssentia manufactures CoQ10 using its own process, and markets the product as an additive to food and cosmetics companies worldwide under its own brand "PhamaQ10". According to the company, PharmaQ10 has exceptional purity and absorption qualities.

The announcement stated that with the licensing agreement, BGG would invest in a plant in Malaysia to manufacture CoQ10 to supply South East Asian countries, with a particular eye on the Islamic populations of the region.

Chairman of BGG, Mr. Embi Yusoff, mentioned that any food or drug product targeting people of Islamic faith had to be certified as following certain manufacturing and purity rules. For example, no alcohol may be added at any stage of the manufacturing process, and no animal products are allowed in pills or drug casings, he said. BGG would be manufacturing CoQ10 under such conditions in Malaysia, and once certified by the Malaysian regulatory authorities, the end product could then be exported to other Islamic markets. The market value for CoQ10 in such countries would be over US$100 million, according to Yusoff.

According to the announcement, BGG would invest US$2 million initially in the manufacturing facility, with the government of Malaysia providing support in the form of a grant worth US$1.4 million. If all goes well, BGG plans on investing US$20 million the following year to complete the facility.

PharmaEssentia president KC Lin said that the deal would help the company reach Islamic populations which had traditionally been inaccessible due to a number of factors including stringent faith-based regulations. He said that the company was pleased to deal with a partner from Malaysia as the country had advantages such as its stable and peaceful Islamic culture and strong economy. Using Malaysia as an entry point to Islamic markets would be advantageous for the company in promoting its other new drug products, said Lin.

Lin also mentioned that PharmaEssentia would be taking a one third stake in the manufacturing facility as part of the deal.

BBG started off importing petroleum on behalf of the government of Malaysia. In recent years, the company has diversified, with its cooperation with PharmaEssentia being its first venture into biotechnology, according to Yusoft.

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