Local firm gets exclusive access to vaccine vs ASF

MANILA, Philippines — A local company has secured the exclusive license to import and distribute a clinically proven vaccine in Vietnam against the African swine fever (ASF) disease that has been wreaking havoc to the domestic hog farming industry.

KPP Powers Commodities said it has entered into a partnership with AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Co., wherein it will be the exclusive distributor of AVAC’s ASF Live Vaccine, the only product of its kind with a government authorization for export and a duly approved certificate of product registration from Vietnam.

ASF has decimated swine farming industries in many countries throughout the world.  Since the first recorded ASF outbreak in the Philippines in July 2019, the virus has caused a 50 to 70 percent decline in the swine population, resulting in an estimated P100 billion annual losses. Compounding this is the fact that hogs account for approximately 55 percent of the total animal industry in the country.

“Countless farms have been forced out of operation, leaving thousands of farmers and affiliated hog industry workers without any source of livelihood,” said KPP Powers managing director Juancho Robles. “ASF has brought about a crisis of vast proportions. It has become a matter of national food security, and thus requires an urgent and imperative response.”

Robles said he is confident the AVAC ASF Live Vaccine’s successful performance will be replicated in the Philippines. “In Vietnam, repeated farm trials showed that the average protection rate of vaccinated pigs is a very high 95 percent. This led to the Vietnam government approving the AVAC ASF Live Vaccine for widespread commercial use. Since July 2022, millions of doses of the ASF vaccine have been used by many of the large multinational and local farm companies in Vietnam with great success.”

KPP Powers has already applied for a special permit to the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is ready to commence local trials.

“The widespread deployment of the AVAC ASF Live Vaccine can save lives, livelihoods, and entire industries – but of course, other countries also know that. Hopefully, we will be given an authorization to import and distribute the vaccine at the soonest possible time,” Robles said.

KPP Powers is a Filipino company that specializes in importing and distributing veterinary and pharmaceutical products. It carries over 100 products like various raw materials, nutritional feeds, and feed additives from brands like AVAC, BASF, AddCon, and many others.

AVAC has 25 years of experience in the production of veterinary medicine and is the first World Health Organization - Good Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP) certified veterinary vaccine manufacturer in Vietnam. They also produce medicines and vaccines for fowl and cattle.