ASTRAZENECA wants to build a Clinical Trial Center of Excellence in Manila this year as it expands its partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to develop the Philippines into a regional hub for clinical research and life sciences investments.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque recently met with the pharmaceutical firm’s officials to discuss health innovation projects, broader Philippine participation in global clinical trials, and faster regulatory approvals.
AstraZeneca has invested more than P3 billion in Philippine clinical trials over the past six years. It supports more than 28 ongoing and planned trials involving over 1,000 Filipino patients across 150 sites.
The planned center will be a partnership with De La Salle University (DLSU), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), through the DLSU Knowledge, Innovation, Science and Technology Zone.
It will be the first of three components in a broader health initiative that will also include a Cancer Command Center and a Cardio-Renal-Metabolic Center.
Last year, AstraZeneca signed a memorandum of understanding with PEZA to support a proposed health innovation hub in one of its economic zones.
The hub’s flagship Oncology Innovation Center would use artificial intelligence to help early detection of lung cancer, train healthcare workers, expand patient support, and inform health policy.
DTI said the initiative aligns with the Create More Act and the 2026 Strategic Investment Priority Plan.
“The Philippines has the talent, digital capabilities, and healthcare expertise to become a regional center for clinical research and health innovation,” Roque said.
She identified clinical research and health information as potential growth industries, building on the country’s information technology and business process management sector. She said the government wants to attract investments similar to AstraZeneca’s Discovery Center in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
In a recent visit to the company’s global headquarters and research hub in Cambridge, Roque toured its Discovery Center, Discovery Science Labs and STEM Inspiration Lab.
Joining her were Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Teodoro Locsin Jr., Philippine Trade and Investment Center-London Commercial Counsellor May Niña Celynne Layug, and other officials from DTI and the Philippine Embassy in the UK.
During the visit, she also met with AstraZeneca Philippines country president Lotis Ramin and policy and advocacy lead Peter Olivar.
AstraZeneca, which has operated in the Philippines for nearly 50 years, also plans to continue investing in medical education, diagnostics and digital health, with a focus on cancer, biopharmaceuticals and rare diseases. Giselle Jordan
