Glovax Lifescience Corp., the country’s first vaccine manufacturing facility with a P7.5 billion project cost, is expected to rise soon in Taysan, Batangas, according to an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
A project briefer sent by Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments (BOI) Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo to reporters noted that the project aims to establish the first vaccine manufacturing facility in the Philippines.
“[The] NDC [National Development Company] is part of the Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] signed by Glovax, a Korean pharmaceutical company and the BOI to further the discussions and plans of the parties for the project,” the project briefer read.
Rodolfo stressed that the vaccine facility was one of the projects that he closely tracked with his counterpart in South Korea under the Health Cooperation provisions when they were negotiating the Philippines-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (PH-KR FTA).
“When we were negotiating the PH-KR FTA, this was one of the Projects which my counterpart, Han-koo Yeo—who eventually became Minister—and myself were closely tracking and trying to enable through specific Health Cooperation provisions in the FTA,” Rodolfo told reporters in a Viber message on Tuesday.
In February 2023, Glovax Lifescience Corp. submitted its feasibility study for the manufacturing/production of vaccines and the corresponding valuation report. The NDC Board approved the project during its meeting on April 27, 2023, the project briefer noted.
“Glovax will use the NDC investment to initiate the detailed engineering design of the vaccine plant, land development, and construction of improvements and office at the vaccine plant site in Batangas,” it said.
The vaccine plant’s projected total cost is P7.5 billion to be constructed in three phases.
The project will house a vaccine production and research and development (VPRD) facility, with a maximum annual capacity of 50 million doses, the document read.
It will also include a pilot plant for the immediate production of any new or existing vaccines.
Moreover, the project will contain a bulk filling plant for the immediate vaccine production with local components of vaccines supplied to the government.
Also among the facilities under this project is a vaccine research and development facility and animal testing for clinical trials.
