A business unit of Malaysia-based Pharmaniaga, Pharmaniaga Pegasus (Seychelles) Co Ltd., announced yesterday that it had signed an equity joint venture contract with Shanghai Worldbest Treeful Pharmaceutical (Group) Co Ltd. to produce pharmaceutical products for China.

According to the announcement, the contract came after an earlier share transfer and capital increase agreement to acquire 40 percent equity interest in Wuxi Worldbest Treeful Pharmaceutical Co Ltd. To be renamed Wuxi Worldbest Pharma Pharmaceutical Co Ltd., the company will manufacture large volume intravenous soft bottles and bags at Wuxi Huishan Life Science and Technology Park in Jiangsu, China.

The plant, expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2006, will reportedly have an annual production capacity of 20-30 million bottles/bags of LVI initially and 100 million bottles/bags in three years.
Pharmaniaga reported that the new venture will be able to meet the demand in China for large volume intravenous products, forecast to be 310.6 million bottles/bags for 2005.

Malaysia-based Pharmaniaga business consists of generic pharmaceuticals manufacturing and R&D, warehousing, the distribution of pharmaceutical and medical products, sales and marketing as well as hospital equipping and IT solutions.