Phl, US eye collaboration in vaccine manufacturing, distribution

The Philippine and US governments are exploring areas of collaboration in vaccine manufacturing and distribution as jabs remain in limited supply amid the pandemic.

- LOUELLA DESIDERIO

In a statement yesterday, the Philippine embassy in Washington said it recently organized a virtual forum with the US government to provide a platform for pharmaceutical and logistics companies to learn about the tools and products available through the US International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) and US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to support their growth and expansion plans across the entire vaccine development, manufacturing and distribution value chain.

The forum was also attended by officials of the Philippines’ Board of Investments, Department of Health, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Food and Drug Administration and private sector participants including IG Biotech, Lloyd Laboratories, Unilab, Roche Philippines, Sydenham Laboratories, New Marketlink Pharmaceutical Corp., Royal Cargo, Philippine pharmaceutical industry associations, as well as cold chain and logistics firms.