Glovax to start vaccine ‘form/fill and finish’ operations in 2022

Glovax Biotech Corp. is eyeing to start operations in October next year of a facility, which will fill vials with a vaccine against COVID-19 being developed by its partner in South Korea, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

According to a presentation of the DTI, the local company has already signed an agreement with its South Korean technology partner EuBiologics Co. Ltd.

The P7.5-billion project is proposed to be located in Clark, with its “form/fill and finish” operations to start in October 2022.

Four possible ventures

While the entire presentation was not shown during the briefing, a copy of the slides showed that the Glovax project was one of four leads that the DTI was pursuing for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing.

The three other companies mentioned in the slides were United Laboratories (Unilab), IG Biotech and Dr. Zen Biotech Inc.

Need for PH’s own facility

According to the presentation, Unilab’s form, fill, and finish plant can be operational by 2023 if its partnership with a technology provider will be finalized in 2022. It also plans to export to other countries in Southeast Asia. IG Biotech, on the other hand, also plans to produce vaccines against COVID-19. The DTI presentation indicated that it was planning to do Phase 3 clinical trials.

Dr. Zen Biotech Inc. has technology providers in India and China, but it is still looking for a possible partner from the United States. It will also have a form/fill facility in the First Bulacan Industrial Estate, which will be operational by 2022. The project, to be done in two phases, will cost $40 million.

In a recent interview on the ABS-CBN News Channel, Glovax Founder and CEO Giovanni Alingog talked about the need for the country to be able to manufacture its own vaccines. He said the company, a vaccine distributor, has been planning to have a manufacturing plant since 2012. INQ