Pharma firm looking to build ecozone – PEZA

Unilab Inc. is looking to create a pharmaceutical economic zone and explore similar opportunities following the recent signing of a law aimed at making the country’s incentives more competitive, a government investment promotion agency said.

Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Tereso Panga recently met with Unilab executives and discussed potential investments under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (Create More) Act that was signed into law last month.

“The meeting is in line with PEZA’s thrust to increase pharma and medical-related investments in the country, aligned with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call to localize and bring down the cost of medicines for Filipinos,” PEZA said in a statement issued during the weekend.

Unilab representatatives were not immediately available for comment.

The agency said that among others, it was working to improve the business climate for pharmaceutical companies. Panga noted a partnership with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for green lane arrangements, expediting regulatory processes for pharmaceutical companies operating within PEZA ecozones.

“This partnership goes hand-in-hand with PEZA’s one-stop-shop facility that allows pharma companies like Unilab to benefit not just from the fiscal incentives offered by the government but also in enhanced ease of doing business within the PEZA zones,” he added.

The Campos family — the largest shareholder in Unilab — has other registered ecozone projects such as the Philippine Packing Agricultural Export Processing Zone, which hosts the operations of subsidiary Del Monte Foods Inc. and the JY Campos IT Centre that hosts Convergys, the biggest IT investor in the country.

Panga said that the establishment of pharmaceutical economic zones would boost medical and drug manufacturing investments.

FDA Director General Samuel Zacate, meanwhile, said that such zones could function as sites for testing and registering medications upon their arrival in the Philippines.

The PEZA said that as of the end of last year, it had accommodated 26 active companies involved in producing pharmaceutical products and medical equipment, which collectively invested P25.489 billion and generated over 19,000 direct jobs in the country.

The agency also said that it was collaborating with the Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry, Philippine Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industries and other entities to develop registration guidelines for pharmaceutical economic zones.