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Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., Chief Implementer of the COVID-19 National Task Force (NTF) and Presidential Advisor on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity. Image from PCOO’s Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine authorities seek to finalize negotiations with Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech this week for a possible agreement to supply its coronavirus vaccine in the country.
Carlito Galvez, Jr., director of COVID-19 policy implementation and vaccine czar, said his meeting with representatives from Sinovac last Friday was “very substantial.” He said he has conveyed the country’s need for 25 million doses of Sinovac vaccines by 2021.
“We want to end this week [the] negotiations so that we can secure the terms and we are also looking at the exact timing of the distribution, ”Gálvez said at a televised press conference on Monday.
The Chinese firm promised to supply vaccines here by April 2021, but Galvez said they are negotiating to have them in March.
Sinovac is currently seeking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials here after passing initial evaluation by the nation’s panel of vaccine experts.
Gálvez previously said that the Sinovac vaccine may be the first to be implemented in the country.
However, the bribery claims are raising serious questions about the efficacy and safety of Sinovac’s vaccine after the US newspaper Washington Post reported that the company had been found to have a history of bribing Chinese drug regulators to ensure approval of the vaccine.
But Malacañang is unfazed by the controversy, saying he relies on the country’s FDA regulatory process to ensure the vaccine is safe for use.
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