DOST: Sinopharm wanted Philippines to fund trials of its COVID-19 vaccine
MANILA, Philippines — Chinese state-owned drugmaker China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (Sinopharm) wanted the Philippines to fund its clinical trials for its coronavirus vaccine in the country, the Department of Science and Technology said Friday.
In a statement with the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, the DOST said Sinopharm reached out to them with two proposals for collaboration, among them is for the Philippines to shoulder the costs of its vaccine’s clinical trial.
DOST said it responded by saying that the Philippines only funds trials under the World Health Organization’s Solidarity Trial. Sinopharm never responded back, DOST said.
Another option for collaboration that Sinopharm floated, according to the DOST, is for the Philippines to recognize the vaccine’s approval in China.
DOST did not say what their response was to this particular suggestion, but the local FDA only fast-tracks the approval of drugs that have been granted authorization by regulatory agencies it deems to be mature — and China’s FDA is not among them.
China has approved Sinopharm’s coronavirus vaccine for general use after the drugmaker announced that it has an efficacy rate of 79%.
The local FDA said in the same statement that Sinopharm has not yet submitted any application for clinical trials or for their vaccine to be approved for emergency use.
In the same statement, the DOH denied the “baseless accusations” that it did not act on documents for the participation of the Philippines in clinical trials for Sinopharm’s coronavirus vaccine, saying that the government’s task force on COVID-19 had approved the country’s participation in several clinical trials, including Sinopharm’s, as early as May 2020.
Their statement sought to counter an accusation from two representatives of MKG Universal Drugs Trading Corporation interviewed on radio DZBB on Friday, who claimed to be the sole distributor of Sinopharm’s vaccine.
The two, whose identities were concealed supposedly due to security reasons, also claimed that the DOH did not act on Sinopharm’s request to hold clinical trials in the country as early as May 2020.
The Presidential Security Group has used the Sinopharm vaccine to immunize themselves against the coronavirus, even if it has not been approved for use in the country.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted Thursday that these vaccines were smuggled.
The FDA Act imposes fines and jail time for those who import, sell or distribute any unregistered health products. — Xave Gregorio
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