MANILA – The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) has vowed to facilitate the application of potential coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine manufacturers in the country by streamlining processes in the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“The Anti-Red Tape Authority will hold a meeting with concerned agencies to discuss the establishment of (a) green lane for faster processing of permit applications of local vaccine manufacturers,” ARTA said in a statement Monday.
ARTA director general Jeremiah Belgica said they will be inviting DOH, FDA, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss how the government can fast-track the application process of possible local vaccine producers.
“We are doing this to see how we can attract these local manufacturers to have their own manufacturing plants for vaccines,” Belgica said in Filipino during a radio interview Monday.
He added this is also ARTA’s response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement to support potential investors for Covid-19 vaccine production in the country.
Last week, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez bared that pharmaceutical companies looking into putting up vaccine manufacturing plants in the country requested for a green lane on government permits.
Lopez added these firms said they will comply with all requirements but asked the government to fast-track the processing of their application.
“ARTA will now focus on the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies that these companies will go through. And not only for the vaccine producers but also manufacturers of medicine that are critical during this time,” Belgica said. (PNA)
