 | |
| Type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| MYX: 5247 | |
| Industry | Sexual health and healthcare products |
| Founded | 1988 in Johor, Malaysia [1] |
| Headquarters | , Malaysia |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Goh Miah Kiat, CEO |
| Products |
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| Brands |
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| Revenue | [2] |
| Website | www |
Karex Berhad is a Malaysian condom manufacturer, one of the largest in the world. [3] It produces more than five billion condoms a year and one in every five condoms globally. [4] The company also supplies condoms to marketing brands like Durex. [3]
The company operates three factories in Malaysia. [3] One of the factories is at its headquarters in Port Klang, and the other two are in Pontian and Senai. The company also operates a factory in Hat Yai, Thailand. [5]
Karex supplies condoms to brands such as Durex, but it also sells condoms directly to customers through its own brands such as Carex. In addition to the consumer market, the company sells condoms in bulk to groups like the United Nations and the World Health Organization for use in the prevention of the spread of HIV. [5]
Although Karex's main product is condoms, which accounted for 93 percent of its revenue in 2016, the company also manufactures personal lubricant, catheters, nitrile gloves, and ultrasound probe covers. [5]
The company traces its history to a rubber tree farm and rubber factory owned by Goh Huang Chiat in Muar, Johor in Malaysia. The condom factory was founded in 1988 by two of Goh's sons, Goh Siang, a chemical engineer, and Goh Leng Kian, a mechanical engineer. By 1999, the company had grown to 60 employees, with an annual revenue of $1.9 million. [5] In 2013, it was listed on the Bursa Malaysia. [6]
The company's business operations have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. Due to a government-mandated lockdown in Malaysia, the company was forced to halt all production for over a week in late March 2020 at all three of its Malaysia factories. The Malaysian government eventually allowed the company to reopen its factories but with only 50 percent of its workforce. The reduction in capacity is expected to cause strain in the global supply chain for condoms and a possible global condom shortage. [3] [4]
In February 2022, ONE Condoms and MyONE Condoms became the first condom brand to receive FDA approval for use during anal sex. [7]
Karex acquired a 55% stake in Boston based Global Protection Corp. in 2014. Global Protection Corp. is the company behind the brands ONE Condoms, Trustex, NuVo, Fantasy, Night Light, and Satin Oral Dams. Karex later acquired the remaining 30% stake in Global Protection Corp. for RM 42.26 million, alongside the issuance of new shares. [8]
Karex issued 82.93 million new shares to Global Protection Corp. president and director Davin Wedel. [8] The acquisition positions Wedel to own 7.64% of the enlarged company while Karex Global Ltd. owns 100% of Global Protection Corp.
Pasante Healthcare Limited was acquired by Karex Behard in 2016 for £6 million. Karex's wholly-own subsidiary, Karex Holdings Sdn Bhd acquired the entire stake in the West Sussex, United Kingdom based company. [9]
Karex acquired the intellectual property of TheyFit LLC, as well as FDA approvals for US$1.3 million. Karex's subsidiary, Global Protection Corp will manage the intellectual property, adding select sizes from the TheyFit offering to a new brand, myONE Custom Fit Condoms. [10]
The intellectual property of Line One Laboratories was acquired by Karex in 2016 for US$8 million. Line One owned the intellectual property rights for trademarks and patents of Trustex and Fantasy brand condoms. [11]
Koninklijke Philips N.V., commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is still in Eindhoven. Philips was formerly one of the largest electronics companies in the world, but is currently focused on the area of health technology, having divested its other divisions.
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Durex is a brand of condoms and personal lubricants owned by the British-Dutch company Reckitt Benckiser. It was initially developed in London under the purview of the London Rubber Company and British Latex Products Ltd, where it was manufactured between 1932 and 1994. The London Rubber Company was formed in 1915, and the Durex brand name was launched in 1929, although London Rubber did not begin manufacturing own-brand condoms until 1932, in collaboration with a rubber technology student from Poland named Lucian Lundau. The first book on The London Rubber Company and the history of Durex condoms, written by Jessica Borge, was published in September 2020 by McGill-Queen's University Press.
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SSL International plc was a British manufacturer of healthcare products. Its best known brands were Durex and Scholl; other significant brands were Sauber and Mister Baby. The company's name was an abbreviation of Seton Scholl London International, its predecessor businesses. The company was founded in 1929 and was listed on the London Stock Exchange. In November 2010, SSL International was folded into Reckitt Benckiser.
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The history of condoms goes back at least several centuries, and perhaps beyond. For most of their history, condoms have been used both as a method of birth control, and as a protective measure against venereal diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis B and more recently HIV/AIDS. Condoms have been made from a variety of materials; prior to the 19th century, chemically treated linen and animal tissue are the best documented varieties. Rubber condoms gained popularity in the mid-19th century, and in the early 20th century major advances were made in manufacturing techniques. Prior to the introduction of the combined oral contraceptive pill, condoms were the most popular birth control method in the Western world. In the second half of the 20th century, the low cost of condoms contributed to their importance in family planning programs throughout the developing world. Condoms have also become increasingly important in efforts to fight the AIDS pandemic.
LifeStyles Condoms is a brand of condoms made by the former Australian company Ansell Limited, previously known as Pacific Dunlop Limited. In 2017, Ansell sold their condom business to a Chinese consortium for over US$600 million. Lifestyles HealthCare and all other Ansell affiliated condom brands: Skyn, Blowtex, LifeStyles, Manix/Mates, Unimil, Jissbon.
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One Male Condom is a natural rubber latex condom product specifically intended, evaluated and marketed for use during anal sex, as well as being approved for use as a contraceptive and to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by vaginal sex. It received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to be marketed for anal sex use on February 23, 2022. All previous FDA condom approvals were specifically only approvals for use with vaginal sex, and thus their use was off-label for anal sex. When used for anal sex, the One Male Condom product is intended to be used with a compatible water-based personal lubricant.
