Thai king's medical firm reports record profit after vaccine deal with AstraZeneca

Thai drugmaker Siam Bioscience, owned by the country's king, reported a near 50-fold increase in annual profit in 2021, when it began producing AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine, government data shows. The company is part of King Maha Vajiralongkorn's vast fortune, which includes land and property estimated at between $30 billion and $60 billion. Founded in 2009 by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej to produce biopharmaceuticals and improve public health, the company had since been loss-making and reported its first profit only in 2020 of 35.7 million baht ($995,000).