Having entered the COVID-19 vaccine race with high expectations, Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Joint Stock Company under Mr. Ho Nhan has invested heavily in research and testing Nano Covax. However, the project has not yet been granted a circulation license, raising many questions about financial strategy, product commercialization capabilities and lessons for domestic science and technology enterprises.
Large investment in vaccine research
Synthesizing information from the Ministry of Health that was previously published, Nano Covax vaccine developed by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Joint Stock Company was put into clinical trial phase 1 from December 2020, and by mid-2021 entered phase 3 with over 13,000 volunteers. The vaccine uses recombined protein technology, aiming to localize vaccine production technology in Vietnam.
According to the company's introduction, Nanogen was established in 1997, operating in the field of the production of pharmaceutical biological ingredients and specifically injected drugs, applying recombined DNA/protein technology.
Nanogen aims to become a regional and global pharmaceutical biotechnology company. Currently, the company has researched, developed and successfully applied many biological advances in the production of active ingredients and injectable drugs to treat terminal diseases.
Nanogen is also a unit participating in the research, invention and clinical testing of a number of antibodies used in immunotherapy for cancer treatment, vaccines and COVID-19 therapy. Previously, the company independently produced products specifically for treating hepatitis B, hepatitis C, anemia and cancer.
According to Mr. Ho Nhan's sharing in the press at that time, Nanogen had invested more than 200 billion VND to expand 3 factories, purchase raw materials, equipment and organize a vaccine production line. About 100 employees of the company were mobilized to specialize in this project.
Mr. Ho Nhan once affirmed that Nanogen's goal is to develop high-quality drugs at reasonable costs for domestic and international patients, while applying modern technological achievements to bring specialized drugs to consumers.
However, despite submitting an emergency application for a license, the Nano Covax vaccine has not yet been licensed for circulation by the Ministry of Health. According to the conclusion of the National Council for ethics in Biomedicine Research on September 18, 2021, the vaccine needs to continue to assess the effectiveness of community protection, which is not enough basis for granting a mass use license.
The suspension at the research - testing stage has caused a large investment capital in the project to not be recovered. This is a common reality in the field of bio-ph pharmaceuticals, especially when businesses do not have clear commercialized products or do not meet the requirements for scientific documents.
Nanogen's ownership structure
According to the updated business registration as of the end of March 2021, Mr. Ho Nhan and his wife, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Van, hold the majority of shares of Nanogen. Accordingly, Mr. Ho Nhan owns about 59.6%, Ms. Van owns 14.6%. In addition, some shareholders are from Korea, including KIS Securities Vietnam.
Nanogen did not list shares on the stock exchange, nor did it issue periodic financial reports. The company's failure to fulfill financial disclosure obligations as a public enterprise makes it difficult for outside observers to have enough information to analyze operational efficiency.
This also reflects the characteristics of many domestic technology companies: prioritizing the focus of resources on research and production instead of approaching capital markets. However, in the context of the medical industry requiring long-term and transparent investment, this is also a point worth considering when assessing capital mobilization capacity and market confidence.
Previously, in mid-2019, Nanogen increased its charter capital to VND715 billion through a stock offering. However, there is no information on independent valuations from auditing institutions or international financial institutions.
The phrase "pharmaseunth lion" has been used by some media outlets to describe expectations for Nano Covax, but this is not an official term, nor is it associated with any public round-trip capital. Currently, Nanogen does not have any commercialized vaccine products.
The passing of Mr. Ho Nhan and the future of Nanogen
On the evening of May 12, the public nation was shocked by the news that CEO Ho Nhan suddenly passed away from heart disease. The mother-in-law of CEO Ho Nhan - businesswoman Nguyen Thi Son said the family was very surprised by his passing. He is the founder and operator of the company's development process from 1997 to present.
This event raises many questions about Nanogen's future orientation, especially when the company currently does not have a key product launched on the market in the vaccine sector, and financial information is not made public to assess internal strength.
Since emerging from the domestic COVID-19 vaccine production race, Nanogen's business activities and products have been quite secretive. According to the public introduction, there is only a small amount of information such as Nanogen that continues to operate at the Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Park, with a product portfolio including recombined biological drugs and some active ingredients for treating chronic diseases.
