Following last weekend’s announcement by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) United Laboratories (Unilab) will engage in vaccine manufacturing in the country starting with the COVID-19 vaccines, another local pharmaceutical firm claims to have the obtained interest of the MVP Group and the National Development Co. (NDC) on its P7-billion vaccine manufacturing plant.
Giovanni Alingong, Glovax president, said he hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding with the MVP Group following Manuel Pangilinan’s verbal indication of interest in the project,
“There will be more meetings about the details. We presented to him (Pangilinan) and he said h is doing it in support of government’s efforts,” said Alingog.
NDC, an attached agency of the DTI, has earlier agreed in principle to take on a minority interest in the venture, with P500 million capital.
According to Glovax, about P5 billion of the project cost will be bankrolled by the private sector investors and the rest will be financed through loans.
Glovax is backed by a technical Partner Eubilogics of Korea which developed and will manufacture EuCorVac-19 COVID vaccine.
At the “Talk to the Nation,” last week, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said once Unilab concludes a partnership with a technology provider by 2022, it can start operation of a form, fill, and finish plant by 2023.
The DTI had said four local groups have expressed interest to manufacture vaccines in the country while the Department of Science and Technology said there are six. – Irma Isip
