Glovax Biotech Corp., a local vaccine distribution firm and business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan is partnering to build a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing plant in the Philippines.
According to Glovax Biotech CEO Giovanni Alingog, the firm’s partnership with Pangilinan would be “financial”, with the business tycoon expected to pour in investments for the construction of the vaccine plant.
“We already have the technology and we already have a supplier, the next step we are doing is finding more financial support,” Alingog told GMA News Online.
Glovax already partnered with South Korea-based EuBiologics Co. for a clinical trial of Korea-made EuCorVac-19 in the Philippines after its Phase 1 and 2 trials in South Korea.
Alingog said their company was planning to produce EuCorVac-19 here once it was granted an emergency use authorization following clinical trials.
He said Glovax planned to start the construction of the vaccine manufacturing plant on or before October this year.
“The estimated cost of the vaccine plant is P7 billion,” he said.
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The facility targets to have a production capacity of 100 million doses in a year.
“Nabanggit niya sa aming meeting noong Wednesday lamang, sinabi niya mismo na susuportahan niya ang Glovax vaccine plant bilang pasuporta sa mamayang Pilipinos, sa gobyerno, lalo na kay Presidente Duterte, para sa laban natin sa COVID-19,” Alingog said of Pangilinan.
(He said in our meeting last Wednesday that he would support the Glovax vaccine plant as a gesture of support for the Filipino people, the government, and President Duterte, in the fight against COVID-19.)
Manuel V. Pangilinan has yet to comment on the statement of Glovax regarding their partnership.
Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that private firms would be allowed to buy their COVID-19 vaccines “at will.”
“I have ordered Secretary [Carlito] Galvez to sign any and all documents that would allow the private sector to import at will, maski anong gusto nilang amount na ipasok, OK sa akin [whatever amount they want to bring in, is OK with me],” Duterte said.
Duterte also said that the private sector will be allowed to buy COVID-19 vaccines “immediately.”