The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals have signed an agreement to establish the country’s first Pharma Innovation Hub, a project designed to advance healthcare innovation and improve access to affordable medicines.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed on 19 August between Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Tereso O. Panga and AstraZeneca Philippines Country President Lotis Ramin, with Trade Secretary Cristina A. Roque, who chairs the PEZA Board, serving as witness.

Under the deal, the hub will operate as a regional center for digital health technologies, research collaborations, and patient-centered healthcare initiatives. Its first major project will be an Oncology Innovation Center, patterned after AstraZeneca’s facility in the United Kingdom. The center aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) for early cancer detection, strengthen patient support systems, train healthcare workers, and support evidence-based policymaking.

The agreement also includes joint efforts to attract healthcare-related investments. AstraZeneca will help promote investment forums, business-to-business engagements, and international missions, while PEZA will identify strategic ecozone sites, assist in regulatory processes, and connect the company with local partners.

Secretary Roque said the initiative aligns with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s push to make medicines more affordable while positioning the Philippines as a center for medical research and innovation.

“The Pharma Innovation Hub shows what we can achieve when global expertise meets local commitment. This partnership with AstraZeneca and PEZA is a big step toward President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s goal of making medicines more affordable and accessible, while also laying the foundation for the Philippines to become a hub for research, digital health, and new medical investments,” Secretary Roque noted.

PEZA’s Panga added that the partnership builds on efforts to expand pharma ecozones nationwide.

“We want to attract more companies that are into development, manufacturing and research in the medical field in order to create a value chain that will lead to the lowering of cost of medicines for Filipinos. This is a call of the President that we have set to heart and embraced to its fruition. We have already established the first Pharma Ecozone and this with AstraZeneca is another momentous event towards achieving our conjoined objectives,” Panga added.

The Philippines’ pharmaceutical industry continues to grow, with more than 14 multinational drug companies and over 50 manufacturers and medical device firms currently operating under PEZA nationwide.