Clinical trials ongoing for ASF, bird flu vaccines
THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said four African Swine Fever (ASF) and three avian influenza vaccine manufacturers are have submitted their products for trials.
“They have not yet submitted their application to us… they have been undergoing clinical trials,” FDA Director General Samuel A. Zacate said in Senate hearing on Monday.
The vaccine manufacturers undergoing trials are from Thailand, the US, and Vietnam, according to Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Poultry and Swine Constance J. Palabrica.
The FDA has so far only approved the AVAC ASF vaccine from Vietnam for a limited government-controlled rollout. It had issued a Certificate of Product Registration, valid for two years and subject to monitoring and annual evaluations.
“The applicant has undergone trial for almost a year… (Certificate of Product Registration) imposes a condition on the market authorization holder to be complied every year. This is an additional layer of protection for our hog farmers,” Mr. Zacate added.
Additionally, the Department of Agriculture (DA) cleared the commercial use of the avian flu vaccine, with priority given to commercial farms. There is no approved bird flu vaccine in the country.
The DA allocated P350 million mostly to procure 600,000 doses for the hog farmers initially targeted. The rollout started on Aug. 30 in Lobo, Batangas.
“The first wave, which is 10,000 doses, was issued… was from emergency procurement. We would like to reduce the infection pressure on Batangas,” Mr. Palabrica added.
He said the initial doses will run out by the end of September, and will be followed by another 150,000 doses.
Separately, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said that the DA is seeking to expand its controlled ASF vaccine rollout to other parts of Luzon, as well as red zones in the Visayas and Mindanao.
“We will cast a wider net to include La Union, Quezon, Mindoro, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Cebu in the BAI’s controlled testing of the initial 150,000 doses of ASF vaccines we have imported from Vietnam,” Mr. Laurel said in a statement.
He added that commercial pig farms located in active infection zones will also receive the ASF vaccines.
“Our goal is to ensure a steady supply of pork in the market and stabilize prices,” he said.
As of Sept. 6, there were 109 municipalities in 31 provinces that had active cases of ASF, according to the BAI. ASF was first detected in the Philippines in 2019. — Adrian H. Halili
