On February 11, 2019 the National Integrated Research Program on Medicinal Plants (NIRPROMP), through the UP Manila Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (UPM-TTBDO), and in partnership with the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC), held the Technology Presentation of Ulasimang bato (Peperomia pellucida) as Antihyperuricemic Agent for various members of the private sector, to attract prospective licensees of the technology.
The Letters Patent for Ulasimang bato (Peperomia pellucida) as Antihyperuricemic Agent had recently been granted by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to NIRPROMP. NIRPROMP, headed by Dr. Nelia Cortes-Maramba, is a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary program established in 1977 initially instituted under the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and served as the frontline program in initiating and sustaining scientific research on herbal medicinal plants for the community, for the development of affordable and accessible herbal medicines to the public. Various units with expertise in specific areas of herbal medicine development worked together under NIRPROMP: (1) Agriculture – College of Agriculture, UP Los Baños; (2) Toxicology – Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, UP Manila; (3) Mutagenicity – Institute of Chemistry, College of Science, UP Diliman; (4) Bioassay – Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, UP Manila; (5) Pharmaceutical Studies – Department of Industrial Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, UP Manila; and (6) Clinical Studies – Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, UP Manila.
The main part of the program was Dr. Nelia Cortes-Maramba’s presentation of the R&D background, along with the research outputs that underpin the claims of the technology. Her daughter and now Director of the UP National Institutes of Health – Institute of Herbal Medicine (NIH-IHM) Dr. Cecilia Maramba-Lazarte recognized the members of NIRPROMP and the contributions of each expert unit. UP Manila Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Armando C. Crisostomo delivered Chancellor Carmencita D. Padilla’s message, highlighting this momentous occasion of academe-industry-government collaboration as the best way to translate scientific innovation, and as a continuation of championing the use of safe and effective locally developed herbal medicines to improve the people’s access to quality health care. PITAHC Director-General Dr. Annabelle Pabiona-De Guzman introduced the organization’s mandate and activities, along with its future plans, and underscored PITAHC’s contributions in the R&D and Technology Transfer activities of NIRPROMP. Finally, UP NIH Executive Director Dr. Eva Maria Cutiongco-Dela Paz wrapped up the program by restating UPM-TTBDO’s mandate of seeking technologies, securing intellectual properties, and scaling these to serve the Filipino people, and have expressed the commitment of NIH resources in support of NIRPROMP and NIH-IHM activities.
A total of ten pharmaceutical companies and toll manufacturers, including representatives from Azarias Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Bauch Phil Laboratories, Greenext LifeScience Corporation, Innogen Pharmaceutical Co., La Croesus Pharma Inc., Nattural Quality Corporation, New Marketlink Pharmaceutical Corporation, Pharmacare Products Company, Pascual Laboratories Inc., RiteMed Philippines Inc., and Trevenodd Corporation attended the Technology Presentation.
As part of the Technology Transfer process, the patented technology is now open for licensing by various Philippine pharmaceutical companies. Interested parties may contact UPM-TTBDO at (02) 3105727 or (02) 3105731 or send an email to ttbdo@post.upm.edu.ph.