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BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai drugmaker Siam Bioscience, owned by the nation’s king, reported a close to 50-fold enhance in annual revenue in 2021, when it started producing AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine, authorities knowledge exhibits.
The corporate is a part of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s huge fortune, which incorporates land and property estimated at between $30 billion and $60 billion.
Based in 2009 by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej to provide biopharmaceuticals and enhance public well being, the corporate had since been loss-making and reported its first revenue solely in 2020 of 35.7 million baht ($995,000).
Its enterprise improved sharply final yr, because it started manufacturing vaccines for the primary time.
Revenue soared a whopping 4,650% to 1.69 billion baht and revenues elevated by 1,500% to a document 4.9 billion baht, aided by its contract to fabricate 200 million doses of the Anglo-Swedish agency’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The deal got here underneath fireplace from a outstanding Thai opposition politician who questioned why the contract went to an organization that was owned by the king and had by no means made vaccines earlier than.
He now faces as much as 20 years in jail following his indictment earlier this yr for insulting the king and violating a cyber regulation.
Thailand’s well being officers have defended the choice, whereas AstraZeneca has mentioned that Siam Bioscience had handed the identical high quality and capability checks it conducts on its greater than 20 licensed producers worldwide.
Siam Bioscience’s headquarters has additionally change into a web site for anti-government protesters, with some demanding reform of the monarchy.
The corporate obtained a 600 million baht authorities subsidy to develop its manufacturing capability and has mentioned it might manufacture vaccines underneath a “no revenue, no loss” coverage, which means it might promote the vaccines at value.
($1 = 35.8800 baht)
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Enhancing by Miyoung Kim and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
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