PH vaccine facility to begin production in two years

MANILA  -The Philippines’ first vaccine manufacturing facility in the province of Batangas could start production in as early as two years from now, creating inoculations for diseases such as polio, cholera and even for the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Glovax Lifesciences Corp. (GLC) vice president for business development Philip Alpajora on Wednesday told the Inquirer that while their facility would need five more years to produce vaccine from scratch, production could begin in as early as two years if they would get the needed raw materials from overseas.

“It would be like getting all the ingredients from South Korea, and then we would finish the vaccine here. But eventually, we will source all of the ingredients here in the Philippines,” Alpajora said in an interview.

The vaccine plant is a pioneer undertaking by the Philippine firm and its partner, Eubiologics Co. Ltd., a South Korean biopharmaceutical company.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the planned 4-hectare facility was also held on Wednesday, paving the way for the next step in the construction of the P2.14-billion undertaking funded by the state-owned National Development Co (NDC).

NDC, the investment arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), cited the importance of having a vaccine production plant in the Philippines in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the possible future threat of other similar health crises.

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“As the only major Asian country without a vaccine plant, the Philippines sorely needs this project for pandemic preparation as well as the provision of cheaper vaccines that will be more widely available, especially to the poor,” NDC general manager Antonilo Mauricio told the Inquirer.

The NDC official also highlighted the importance of the facility given the threat of another COVID-19 variant on the horizon.