The importance of and challenges in translating health researches to benefit more Filipinos were highlighted during the 21st anniversary conference of the UP Manila National Institutes of Health (NIH) held on February 28, 2019 with the theme, Lab to Life: Translating Health Research for Filipinos.

UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla lauded the accomplishments of the NIH in the last two decades and urged its researchers to meet the challenges. “Now, we are here to bridge the gap between research and translation. It is for this reason that we have to partner with those who understand – industry and government. This is not a competition but a partnership.”

The Chancellor urged the researchers in the audience to seriously look at their datasets and attempt to translate them into policy, device, or clinical guidelines. These datasets have to be placed on platforms of translation.

For her part, NIH Executive Director Eva Cutiongco-Dela Paz said that the NIH is an extraordinary social invention, a community of teachers and scholars performing a unique social role – a duty for the public good. Within this milieu, the NIH is committed to excellence and relevance as the national health research center.

In his message, UP President Danilo Concepcion hoped that the NIH will inspire more researchers to help “find solutions to the woes of our countrymen, The Philippine General Hospital unveiled a first-of-its-kind biobank facility in the country on February 18, 2019. Located at the PGH Science Complex, the Cancer-Phenome Biobanking System and Biomonitoring Program or simply the UP-PGH Biobank envisions to provide quality and standardized collection and storage of biospecimens to be used for biomedical researches directed towards the advancement of precision medicine. A joint initiative of the University of the Philippines and University of CaliforniaSan Francisco, and funding from the Commission on Higher Education PhilippineCalifornia Advanced Research Institutes (CHED-PCARI) through the Institute for Health Innovation and Translational Medicine, the new biobank will allow participation in collaborative research activities and the establishment of a community of practice focused on biobanking of biological samples. “This project can lead to policy. Because we have local data, we can now pass policy recommendations to the proper government authorities so that we can make sure that the environment can be safer for our people,” said UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla. Echoing Chancellor Padilla’s statement, CHED Chairman Dr. Prospero De Vera III said, “I’m very happy because this project brings us closer to a culture where we make decisions and we design programs based on data.” He also noted that this facility contributes to UP’s role as the national university, leading the other universities to be involved in this culture of decision-making based on data. especially contemporary problems that require immediate solutions.”

Recognizing the NIH successes in the past, he urged the Institute to do more (researches) in all health fields; strengthen partnership with industry, other professions, and alumni worldwide; and engage the experts and envision output early on in the research to be able to come up with better research outcomes that meet the people’s needs.

In her keynote address, Department of Science and Technology Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevarra explained the state of Filipino health science research and innovation as well as the importance of translation. “Health science in the Philippines has evolved and changed substantially over the past decades. Solutions derived from medicinal plants, local sources, and the innovative methods derived from research remain to be the most viable path in securing the health and wellbeing of the Filipinos.”

She cited the DOST’s Tuklas Lunas Program in harnessing the potential of Philippine biodiversity to discover and develop local functional food, herbal supplements, standardized herbal drugs, and drug candidates by identifying and characterizing high-value purified active compounds derived from marine and land sources for specific therapeutic indications.

According to the DOST undersecretary and UP professor, the DOST’s Hospital Equipment and Biomedical Devices program aims to develop safe, reliable, and affordable medical devices. These include diagnostics and biological markers for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

Some devices that are in varying stages of development and testing are the Axis Total Knee Replacement System, AGAPAY (cost-effective rehab system that provides uppler limb movements for post stroke and injured patients), and Reliefvent. She made special mention of Dr. Raul Destura’s Biotek Lamp Dengue Diagnostic Kit that detects dengue faster, cheaper, and more accurately (please see UP Manila Health Ripples Jan-Jun 2017 issue).

She recognized that the technologies generated by lagundi and sambong were the most successfully commercialized government-funded researches. At their peak levels, there were 24 licenses for eight different kinds of herbal technologies for the two plants. The National Integrated Research Program on Medicinal Plants led by retired UP College of Medicine pharmacology professor Dr. Nelia Maramba conducted the researches on these medicinal plants that were first commercialized in 1997.

She explained that technology commercialization is now the responsibility of the research institution. The DOST provides assistance in identifying patentable inventions, protecting Intellectual Property, and supporting them until product pre-commercialization.

“We are waiting for the new IRR of the Technology Transfer Act of 2009 to be approved by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. Once it comes out, the process of having the Fairness Opinion Board assessment and opinion report will become faster as the delay in this step is usually the complaint of researchers,” the DOST Undersecretary stated.

She added that the DOSTPhilippine Council for Health Research and Development has partnered with the Department of Health in Advancing Health through Evidence-Assisted Decisions with Health Policy and Systems Research (AHEADHPSR) Program. This is an improved strategy to implement the DOH’s medium-term health policy and systems research agenda and its ecosystem.

Plenary and panel sessions

The first plenary session that followed the opening program highlighted the benefits and challenges of research utilization for the public good with Counsellor Dr. David Simmons of the World Intellectual Property Organization as speaker. For the second session, Mrs. Carmen Peralta of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines discussed how health research contributes to Philippine development.

Meanwhile, experts in the fields of health science and technology from different universities, industry, and government shared their ideas and experiences on research translation and their respective innovations that are in varying stages of application.

Panel 1 presenters Dr. Nilo Bugtai of the De La Salle University Biomedical Devices Innovation and e-Health Research Group, Michael Peralta, MSPT, MSPhysio, LL.M., PTRP of the University of Santo Tomas Office of the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, and Mr. Ace Acosta of the Slipstream Commercialization and Innovation Liberation Front took part in the first panel with the topic Paving the Way to Success: Creating Ideas that Matter with Dr. Salvador Caoili of the UP College of Medicine as moderator.

Panel 2 discussions, in a nutshell, highlighted the academicindustry partnership wherein the speakers narrowed down how both parties can actively engage with one another in order to boost the innovation’s impact and eventually ensure the success of the collaboration. RiteMED Philippines President Jose Maria Ochave, Dr. Bienvenido Balotro, and Valea Health Co-founder Dr. Lorraine Faeldon spoke about this topic with the title Working with Industry: The Merit of Collaboration with Dr. Camilo Roa as moderator.

Panel 3 discussions helped researchers understand the process they first need to go through – such as securing copyrights or trademarks, patents, utility models, and industrial designs – before commercializing for their products’ or innovations’ protection.

For the topic, If I have an invention… A Dummies Guide in Seeking Protection and Partnerships, Patricia San Jose of the UPM-TTBDO and Engr. Jerry Ligaya of the Technological University of the Philippines were the speakers with Mr. Cedrik Gayares of the UP System Technology Transfer and Business Development Office as moderator.

Panel 4 consisted of scientist and inventors who showcased their own Filipino-made biomedicalrelated products that are in the process of commercialization. With the topic Future Technologies to Look Forward To, Dr. Enrico Paringit of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development-DOST introduced a database that collects and stores massive amount of information that will be used in crafting inventions; Engr. Jasper Araña of Adamson University introduced a pillow for sleep apnea; Valea Health CEO Gia Santos introduced an SMS and chat-based health assistant; and Dr. Erna Arollado of the NIH Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences presented an herbal supplement for iron deficiency and other hematological disorders but without the usual side effects of commercially available iron supplements.

For the last panel discussion, Ms. Maria Christina Ibañez of Miriam Innovation Center, Dr. Ricardo Quintos II of the UP College of Medicine, and Dr. Gonzalo Serafica of the USAID STRIDE spoke on the topic, I Can, We Can, You Can which highlighted the designers inside every individual.

CYNTHIA VILLAMOR | Published in UP Manila Healthscape No. 372 (January – February 2019)