Six companies expressed interest in spearheading local production of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
“The Board of Investments (BOI) is talking to about six local companies on their plans for local vaccine manufacturing. We are doing this so we don’t depend on imports for the vaccine in the future,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a virtual meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday.
Earlier, Filipino pharmaceutical firm Glovax Biotech said it is in talks with the BOI for the production of the EuCorVac-19 in the country with its Korean partner. Serum Institute of India also aims Philippine production of its Covid-19 vaccine.
The country is now producing 3.2 million pieces of coverall personal protective equipment from zero at the onset of the pandemic.
From one manufacturer of medical-grade face mask before, several investments in face mask manufacturing made the country capable of producing 56 million pieces per month of N88 face masks and 2.4 million pieces of N95 masks per month, Lopez added.
The country now also produces one of the raw materials of face masks, the meltblown or mask filter, from zero local capacity pre-pandemic.
