TTBDO Expands Industry Partnerships, Promotes Innovation Commercialization

July 28, 2026

Text by Charmaine A. Lingdas
Photos by Jericho Paolo L. Mabansag

(Ninth from left) Research Management and Translation Office (RMTO) Director Emerito Jose Faraon, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Johanna Patricia Cañal, Research Grants Administration Office (RGAO) Head Sheriah Laine De Paz-Silava, Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO) Director Lourdes Marie Tejero, and the staff of the RGAO and TTBDO gather for a group photo during the program.

The University of the Philippines Manila Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO) highlighted its continuing efforts to strengthen innovation, technology commercialization, and industry collaboration during a presentation to the university community.

“In TTBDO, we take care of the inventions of the university. We protect those intellectual properties and transfer them, meaning we either license them out or we do start-ups,” TTBDO Director, Professor Lourdes Marie Tejero said during the university’s flag-raising ceremony on July 27, 2026.

She also shared updates on the office’s programs, emphasizing its role in protecting the university’s intellectual property and helping bring UP Manila-developed technologies to industry and society through licensing, startup development, and strategic partnerships.

Among the TTBDO’s upcoming initiatives is UP Manila’s participation in the PhilMed Expo on August 19–21, 2026, where the university will showcase its health technologies and innovations alongside industry exhibitors. TTBDO will also host “Kapihan with the Start-ups” on Aug. 21, 2026, providing a venue for discussions with startup founders on building successful innovation-driven enterprises and exploring ways to help emerging UP Manila startups grow. A business forum later that day will feature Philippine General Hospital Director Gerardo Legaspi as the keynote speaker, with representatives from the Medical Device Association of the Philippines serving as reactors to discuss opportunities for collaboration between the university and the medical device industry.

Prof. Tejero encouraged members of the UP Manila community to take advantage of TTBDO’s training programs on intellectual property and technology transfer. The office offers seminars covering patent protection, trademark and copyright fundamentals, technology transfer processes, and patent database searching to help researchers, faculty, and staff safeguard and maximize the impact of their innovations.

She also reported that TTBDO continues to broaden its engagement with industry partners, including ongoing discussions with technology companies interested in collaborating with the university.

In addition to facilitating partnerships, TTBDO continues to oversee the commercialization of university-developed technologies, supporting researchers throughout the process of protecting intellectual property, securing licenses, and bringing innovations closer to public use.

Through these initiatives, TTBDO strengthens UP Manila’s commitment to translating research into practical solutions, fostering innovation, and strengthening partnerships that contribute to improving healthcare and advancing national development.

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