FDA sees Pfizer applying for commercial launch of COVID-19 vaccine next year

US drugmaker Pfizer will likely apply for commercial release of its COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines next year, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo said Wednesday.

In a radio interview, Domingo said Pfizer would seek market authorization first from the European Union before moving to other countries.

Last month, the US FDA granted full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by COVID-19 vaccine  Pfizer and German partner BioNTech

“Ang tingin ko baka 2022 pa sila mag-aapply sa atin ng certificate of product registration,” Domingo said.

(I think they will apply for a certificate of product registration in the Philippines in 2022.)

“That is my guess,” he said in a message to GMA News Online.

Domingo earlier said COVID-19 vaccines may possibly become commercially available in the country by early 2022. 

All vaccines currently available in the country have been authorized for emergency use. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News