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The Philippine Economic Zone Authority is eyeing Tarlac and Bulacan as sites for the Philippines’ first pharmaceutical ecozones
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PEZA hailed Proclamation No. 63 designating a 29.77-hectare property in Barangay Baculong, Victoria, Tarlac as a special economic zone
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Investment cost for Victoria Industrial Park is P169 million
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The park was named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as one of two sites to serve as a pharma zone
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The First Bulacan Business Park, proclaimed in 2021, is also seen as a pharma ecozone
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is eyeing Tarlac and Bulacan as sites for the Philippines’ first pharmaceutical ecozones.
PEZA hailed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signing of Proclamation No. 63 designating a 29.77-hectare property in Barangay Baculong, Victoria, Tarlac as a special economic zone.
Investment cost for Victoria Industrial Park is P169 million.
“This is a major milestone for our push to see the first pharmaceutical ecozone operating within this administration, and ultimately for the country’s overall pharmaceutical industry,” PEZA director general Tereso Panga said in a statement.
He added the establishment of the park was a “crucial step” in the broader strategy to strengthen and expand the pharmaceutical sector, making medicines affordable and accessible.
In addition to Victoria Industrial Park, First Bulacan Business Park (FBBP), proclaimed in 2021, is also seen as a pharma ecozone.
READ: PEZA approves first pharma ecozone
The establishment of pharma zones dovetails with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, with Marcos’s vision of streamlining the drug application process. By encouraging more local producers to boost their research and development and manufacturing capabilities, lower drug costs for the general public is foreseen.
Panga said he was optimistic “this will be the start, as we intensify our initiatives to achieve the goal of making the Philippines a global leader in pharmaceutical manufacturing.”
Food and Drug director general Samuel Zacate expressed his agency’s intentions to put up a laboratory in Tarlac.
Aside from Victoria Industrial Park, the FBBP is seen to host medical R&D for the manufacture of innovative, over-the-counter and generic drug products, medical instruments and equipment, and pharma cold chain.
FBBP is adjacent to the First Bulacan Industrial City, AKA Pharma City of the North, home to eight pharma-related firms such as Pascual Laboratories, Lloyd Laboratories, Lumar Pharmaceutical, Cargill Phils., and Cosmetique Asia.
As of December, last year, PEZA has been host to 27 companies engaged in pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, including the likes of Terumo Phils. Corp., Kaneko Medical Philippine, Inc., Merck Business Solutions and JMS Healthcare. The companies created more than 19,000 jobs and generated P25.525 in investments.
PEZA is home to 19 companies in Tarlac, and seven PEZA-registered enterprises in Bulacan. The former has generated 18,000 jobs and $161.067 million in exports, while the latter has created 11,000 jobs and nearly $90 million in exports.
