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 Dr. Boon Vanasin's claim that his group, a more than $800 million
private medicine empire, was close to signing a deal for 20 million
Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines to import to Thailand was
swiftly denied on Thursday by both companies, one day after a
government agency filed a defamation suit against Boon, 82.
On Friday, THG stuck to its guns.
“THG has agreed to buy the vaccine and is currently in the process
of filing documents with overseas dealers,” the company said in a
statement.
Boon even told local media an agreement would be signed by Friday
afternoon. By close of business, there was still no evidence of any
deal.
THG shares closed 1.59% higher, having been up as much as 4% at one
point.
It's still unclear whether Boon was insincere, the victim of a scam
or - as he asserts - in the process of a brilliant fix to Thailand’s
desperate vaccine needs.
Boon insists a deal was in the works through a government agency,
which he declined to name.
"We are not doing it directly," he told Reuters.
Still, his comments on Thursday added about 1.5 billion baht ($45.80
million) to THG’s market capitalisation, bring it to 26.8 billion
baht ($818.32 million), Refinitiv Eikon data shows.
Thailand so far has only vaccinated 5 percent of its population of
more than 66 million. It has been administering China's Sinovac
vaccine and the AstraZeneca’s shots but the government seeking other
imported doses.
Boon, the Thai word for merit, has been on a quest for COVID-19
vaccines for months, arguing that the government should not
monopolise supply and calling the vaccine policy “complacent and
reckless.”
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 In February, he tried to import
vaccines, but was unsuccessful and later lodged
a protest..
Months later state drugmaker, the Government
Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), said it would
import five million doses of Moderna vaccine for
private hospitals. Demand for
mRNA vaccines in Thailand is growing. Pre-orders for Moderna
vaccines through private hospitals were snapped up in a hurry.
Boon criticised the GPO for its process and on Wednesday the GPO
slapped a defamation suit against the John Hopkins-trained
physician. He said he welcomed the complaint because evidence and
documents could be revealed in court.
 Boon founded Thonburi hospital in 1976 and oversaw its expansion
into a network of seven hospitals with 963 registered beds. He took
the company public in 2017.
THG, which also operates hospitals in Cambodia and Myanmar, booked
losses of 215 million baht in the first quarter this year, taking a
hit from the pandemic and drop off in medical tourists.
The group is smaller than rivals like Bangkok Dusit Medical Services
Pcl, and before the pandemic, its chairman began to carve out a
niche. In 2017, he launched a $500 million 'medical city' for the
elderly called Jin Wellbeing County, targeting Thailand’s ageing
population and foreign retirees.
($1 = 32.7500 baht)
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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