PEZA, AstraZeneca partner to create Pharma Innovation Hub in PH

In furtherance to the country’s initiatives towards strengthening the pharma and healthcare industry, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals (Phils.) Inc. entered into an agreement to further investment promotion initiatives and for the creation of a local innovation hub, seen to strengthen the country’s pharmaceutical and healthcare innovation landscape.

On 19 August 2025, PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga and AstraZeneca Philippines (AZPH) Country President Lotis Ramin signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as witnessed by PEZA Board Chair and Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (SAPIEA) Secretary Frederick D. Go, Swedish Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Anna Ferry, British Deputy Ambassador Mike Welch, AstraZeneca Asia Area Vice President Sylvia Varela, and Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAP) Executive Director Teodoro Padilla.

DG Panga stated that this is all part of the PEZA plan of establishing more medical centered ecozones or Pharma Zones. He said, “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.”

In support of this, AZPH President Ramin also expressed that “AstraZeneca remains committed to the Philippines and as a total company, we will continue to invest over PhP 7 Billion from 2026 to 2028. This includes the vision of the country’s first-ever multi-stakeholder health innovation hub in partnership with PEZA, signaling our long-term commitment to shape better health outcomes through collaboration in science.”

PEZA and AstraZeneca partnership

Under the agreement, PEZA and AstraZeneca will further enhance the country’s investment promotion initiatives, making the Philippines as a priority destination for healthcare-related investments. AZPH will help attract both local and foreign investors by facilitating business forums, investment briefings, B2B match-making sessions, and international delegations.

PEZA will also help AZPH in identifying viable locations for its healthcare projects within ecozones, providing guidance on regulatory requirements, and linking the company with support industries and potential joint venture partners. Both PEZA and AZPH envision positioning the Philippines as an ASEAN hub for health-related production, distribution, and R&D collaboration.

Moreover, the MOU will push for the establishment of AstraZeneca’s Multi-Stakeholder Health Innovation Hub in the Philippines — the first of its kind in the PEZA ecozone network. The hub is seen to position the country as a regional center for digital health technology, research and development collaboration, and patient-centered healthcare solutions.

The first project under the Innovation Hub will be an Oncology Innovation Center, which will harness artificial intelligence for early cancer detection, expand patient-support systems, build healthcare workforce capacity, and promote evidence-based policy development. AstraZeneca plans to model the hub after its prestige pharma hub in the United Kingdom.

Lauding the partnership, Secretary Roque emphasized its alignment with the government’s broader industrialization and innovation agenda. “We welcome this initiative as it complements our efforts to promote the Philippines as a hub for strategic industries, including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and life sciences.”

“The Pharma Innovation Hub marks a major step in aligning trade, industry, and healthcare development in the Philippines. With AstraZeneca’s global expertise and PEZA’s world-class ecozone network, we are building an ecosystem that will future-proof our healthcare sector, promote innovation-driven growth, and contribute to the government’s Bagong Pilipinas vision of inclusive and sustainable development,” noted Secretary Roque.

The PEZA Director General assured that, “At DTI-PEZA, we remain steadfast in our mission to be an enabler of industries and innovation. By developing globally competitive ecozones and delivering our hallmark one-stop, non-stop service, we ensure that both foreign and local enterprises can grow and succeed. You can count on PEZA to be with you every step of the way.”

The Philippines’ pharmaceutical sector is seen one of its fastest-growing industries, with more than 14 multinational pharma companies. Under PEZA, over 50 manufacturers and medical device firms like Terumo Philippines, Philipcare Medical, Asahi Intecc, and Royale Life Pharma, among others are currently operating in PEZA zones nationwide. PEZA also already broke ground for the first pharma ecozone in Victoria, Tarlac, seen to attract more pharma and medical device manufacturers into the country.