The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is preparing the registration guidelines to help foreign pharmaceutical companies set up operations in the Philippines.
PEZA director-general Tereso Panga said the agency was closely working with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Philippine Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industries (PCPI) in crafting the guidelines for the registration of pharma zones.
“In all these, we hope to see the pharma parks creating a platform for increased R&D, technology transfer, registration of local patents and a complete ecosystem that will enable the country to produce its own medicines and provide access to quality, affordable medicines, medical products and healthcare for all Filipinos,” Panga said.
PEZA is looking at increased medical and drug manufacturing-related investments with the creation of pharmaceutical economic zones.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in a sectoral meeting on Tuesday, floated the idea of establishing pharma-zones as one-stop shops to make the drug application process more accessible and efficient.
The FDA said pharma-zones established in PEZA-controlled areas would enable the agency to immediately test and register medicines upon entry to the Philippines.
“These pharma ecozones will, in the future, boost local supply as well as provide business and capability building opportunities particularly for Filipino SMEs into manufacturing and tolling of drugs and food supplements,” said Panga.
“We can contribute to the DTI’s science, technology and innovation-driven industrialization strategy through the pharma zones that will seek to strengthen partnerships between global drug manufacturing companies and the local industry players with their integration into the ecozone and global value chains,” Panga said.
PEZA earlier signed a memorandum of agreement with the FDA to streamline the applications for permits and licenses of locators engaged in the manufacture of food, cosmetic, drugs and medical devices.
The MOA will also ensure compliance of ecozone locators with the provisions of the Food and Drug Act of 2009 and other laws.
Among the parties that are reportedly interested to invest in the Philippines is the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association.
There were also talks in 2017 between the Philippine and the Indian governments to set up manufacturing zones in the country for Indian pharmaceutical companies wanting to tap the ASEAN market.
PEZA hosts 26 companies manufacturing medical equipment and devices like Terumo, Arkray Industry, Royale Life Pharma, JMS Healthcare and Philipcare Medical, with total investments of P25.489 billion supporting over 19,000 direct jobs.