KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): Pharmaniaga Bhd is reassuring all of its vendors and suppliers that the group will meet its financial obligations by the end of the month at the earliest.

In a statement on Tuesday (April 4), the group said it is confident the current delay in payments will be resolved and normalised, following its meeting with the Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia.

According to Pharmaniaga, the association raised concerns regarding the group's Practice Note 17 (PN17) status and issues pertaining to delays in payment to its suppliers.

The group also said it had cleared most of its obligations to its suppliers, and will continue to honour all commitments to ensure that patients will have uninterrupted access to medicine.

Pharmaniaga added that its core business activities in research and development, manufacturing, logistics and distribution, sales and marketing as well as its Indonesian operations are proceeding as usual and are not affected by the current situation.

The group said moving forward, action plans have been agreed upon by all parties, which include more proactive engagements in addressing operational issues with regards to the medicine and non-medicine supplies to the government and private healthcare facilities.

“Both parties will also work closer towards creating a more consistent and predictable ecosystem that encourages stable operations,” the group added.

The group, which fell to PN17 status after writing off RM552.3 million worth of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines, had cash of RM52.85 million at end-2022.

Payables stood at RM802.7 million from RM858.41 million the year before.

At the time of writing, shares of the pharmaceutical company traded unchanged at 30 sen apiece, giving it a market capitalisation of RM400.08 million.