The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has vowed stronger cooperation to secure public health and safety as they intensify efforts to combat emerging animal diseases hazardous to the country's livestock and poultry production.

FDA director general Dr. Samuel Zacate and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. forged a Memorandum of Agreement recently between the FDA and  DA’s  Bureau of Animal Industry's (BAI) collaboration on evaluating animal vaccines and biologicals as well as streamlining its regulations on the process of approval of its applications.

Under the accord, the FDA will be in charge of issuing licenses to operate to manufacturers, traders, distributors, and retailers of veterinary drugs and products, ensuring stringent safety standards and their availability to the public.

For the BAI’s part, the DA attached office will be conducting evaluations on the applications and providing the FDA with evaluation reports to determine the safety and efficacy of both local and imported vaccines.

Under Republic Act 9711, otherwise known as “The Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009,” the Department of Health’s (DoH) attached agency is mandated to secure public safety by ensuring the safety, efficacy, or quality of health products such as, but not limited to, biologicals and vaccines for human or animal use.