Food and Drug Administration Director General Dr. Samuel Zacate has vowed to make the agency's registration process more efficient to benefit both manufacturers and consumers.
"With regard to the FDA, they have stringent requirements and internal processes, but now I have the power to streamline the internal processes, mostly on payments, assessments, and rigid (regulatory) conditions. I will do it," Zacate said in his speech before the general membership meeting of the Philippine Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry, Inc. on Tuesday.
Zacate also vowed to ensure access to medicines and make it less burden some on Filipinos by removing red tape, introducing innovations and ensuring fair competition in the pharmaceutical sector.
"As a physician, I did not realize that there would come a time when it would be hard for us to access medicines. During the height of the pandemic, we could not even get simple paracetamol or decongestant, which are usually readily available in pharmacies," he said.
He vowed to support the President's call for a robust local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector to ensure that the country has ample supply of much-needed essential medicines.