HS Bio’s launches HealthChain, an Integrated COVID-19 Testing Supply Chain

Hong Seng Consolidated Berhad’s (“Hong Seng”) healthcare arm and wholly-owned subsidiary, HS Bio Sdn Bhd (“HS Bio”) has launched HealthChain, a comprehensive end-to-end medical supply chain management solution. It will empower the nation to access an effective COVID-19 testing strategy that will accelerate a return to the ‘new normal’ of business and operating practices in Malaysia. HS Bio is actively involved in managing the entire end-to-end supply chain of COVID-19 testing processes. This encompasses everything from the front-facing and back-end processes, physical logistics, digital healthcare platform, laboratory facilities and research & development (“R&D”) services, as well as the provision of medical & healthcare supplies.

Hong Seng’s Executive Director, Christopher Chan, said, “HealthChain will help us to effectively scale up the nation’s COVID-19 testing capacity as we have full access and visibility of the development, whether it is on-the-demand for testing, the capacity at the laboratory, the inventory of the testing kit or the logistic issues involving the delivery of sample tests. Our synergistic approach allows for the debottlenecking of critical path processes and effective demand/supply planning. This integrated and comprehensive approach to medical supply chain management enables the Group to build even greater efficiencies and scale through process simplification whilst also improving the service levels and turnaround time in the tracking, identification and management of COVID-19 positive cases and clusters.”

The holistic approach of HealthChain and integrated nature of HS Bio’s COVID-19 testing supply chain enable effective coordination and communication that allow HS Bio to leverage industry tailwinds for nationwide Covid-19 testing in a quick and agile manner. As a result HS Bio is uniquely well-positioned to reap the rewards accruing to a truly one-stop shop operator facilitating Covid-19 testing in Malaysia.

Furthermore, Hong Seng’s ongoing acquisition of a 51% stake in RZAC Immunesafe Sdn Bhd (“RZAC”) enables the Group to have the exclusive distribution rights of the ImmuSAFE™ COVID+ Biochip, a comprehensive neutralising antibody testing kit that has an accuracy of 100% as validated by the Institute for Medical Research (“IMR”).

With the proposed acquisition, the Group will also benefit from the synergy between usage of the ImmuSAFE™ neutralising antibody testing kits and the capabilities of its laboratory testing division, Neogenix Laboratoire (“Neogenix Lab”). This relationship will be further enhanced by the multitude of other synergistic services provided in the HealthChain supply chain such as its e-commerce platform and logistics solution. HealthChain will empower an effective COVID-19 testing strategy, which is vital for a return to normalcy in Malaysia. This is part of HS Bio’s double bottom line philosophy, which is to do well by doing good.

Given HS Bio’s experience in laboratory testing via Neogenix Lab as well as its collaboration with more than 2,200 clinics, through its eMedAsia platform, that are capable of performing COVID-19 tests using ImmuSAFETM COVID+ Biochip and other COVID-19 test kits, the proposed acquisition of RZAC is not only a natural extension of HS Bio’s medical supply chain capabiliites but is also immediately value accretive from an earnings and service capability perspective. It will profoundly assist the group in ramping up its existing testing capacity whilst simultaneously building supporting infrastructure.

Seamless Booking For COVID-19 Testing

In the age of hyper-convenient experiences, HS Bio is more relevant than ever, having partnered with Jengu (Jengu.my) to ensure seamless service delivery in the healthcare testing sphere. Jengu focuses on providing an end-to-end COVID-19 test booking framework, and has been instrumental in the operation of the Periodic Commuting Arrangement (“PCA”) and Reciprocal Green Lane (“RGL”) schemes enabling point of entry testing for travellers between Malaysia and Singapore.

Users are also able to request COVID-19 testing services directly through the Jengu platform via the website Jengu.my, for tests such as the polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”) tests, Rapid Test Kit (“RTK”) antigen tests and antibody tests. Users will also be able to book the ImmuSAFETM neutralising antibody test in the near future, which is capable of detecting and quantifying the neutralising antibody level within an individual.

For users who are looking to book COVID-19 testing in order to travel to other countries, the Jengu platform will also be able to provide ease of scheduling for COVID-19 tests. As most destination countries have a different requirement, the Jengu platform is developing and rolling out a feature set which will ensure that the tests conducted will fulfil the requirement of the destination countries, such as the duration required for testing prior to the flight into the destination country. For example, those entering Singapore at the moment will be required to take a COVID-19 PCR test within 48 hours of their flight to Singapore.

Once the booking is made via these platforms, the back-end process will tap on the e-commerce marketplace under eMedAsia Sdn Bhd, which has collaboration with over 2,200 clinics nationwide. The booking process is seamless given the efficient and proven back-end system that enables appointment data to be made with the nearest clinics. The bio-samples collected are delivered to the nearest labs within 24 hours through the MediBox service provided by the Group’s logistics partner and specialist, Line Clear Express Logistics Sdn Bhd.

The lab test results for COVID-19 related tests will be ready within 24 hours or 48 hours, while other tests will depend on the required laboratory turnaround time. The test results will be uploaded to the Sistem Informasi Makmal Kesihatan Awam (“SIMKA”) under the Ministry of Health while users will be notified on the test results digitally via email and Jengu. Participating labs can also choose to have their lab results enhanced by an additional layer of security via the provision of blockchain-enabled QR code attestation, made possible via HS Bio’s partner company QRlab.