DOST wants local pharmas to make COVID vaccine

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) wants local pharmaceutical companies to manufacture any coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines that may be developed by Chinese or Taiwanese drug makers.

Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said members of the technical working group (TWG) under the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) met with representatives of 11 local companies involved in COVID vaccine research and development in the Philippines.

Dela Peña earlier told The STAR that the TWG is negotiating with five Chinese and Taiwanese institutions for possible collaboration on the development of a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2.

“We have been authorized by the IATF to negotiate vaccine trials collaboration with them,” he said.

He identified the five instiututions as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sinopharm, Sinovac Biotech, Academia Sinica and AdImmune.

Dela Peña said the goal is to encourage local pharmaceutical companies to help develop and manufacturing vaccines against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

In his weekly report to the public on DOST’s COVID-19 activities, Dela Peña said the challenge for the DOST is to convince their prospective foreign partners for COVID vaccine development to give licenses to manufacture vaccines to local pharmaceuticals.

“DOST is currently negotiating for the outsourcing of possible (manufacture of) vaccine candidates for the country thru the international bilateral partners that we have,” Dela Peña said.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday that the agency would cancel the special certification issued to rapid antibody test kits for COVID-19 that are flawed.

In a statement, FDA director general Eric Domingo said to ensure the safety and quality of the approved rapid test kits, the agency requires performance testing of the products as a form of post-marketing surveillance.

The statement was issued in reaction to the pronouncement of Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor who questioned the FDA for allowing the sale of rapid test kit brands, which are not registered in the country where they were produced.

Domingo said the approval of rapid test kits follows an expedited process to increase access to these products while ensuring their safety and quality.

He maintained that rapid test kits are only as aids in the proper medical management for the coronavirus as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) remains the gold standard in confirming COVID-19 infection. Sheila Crisostomo