DOST, UP-MSI link up for 'Pharmaseas'

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the UP Marine Science Institute (MSI) recently formalized a memorandum of agreement to establish the Philippine Pharmaseas Drug Discovery Program.

The program, which seeks to explore anti-infective agents from sponge-associated marine microorganisms and anti-pain agents from venomous turrid snails, will be led by Dr. Gisela Concepcion of the MSI.

Under the program, the DOST will provide an initial P129-million grant to jumpstart the project and acquire costly, but necessary, equipment such as NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and LC-MS/MS (Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectometry) devices that will allow the team to determine the chemical structures of compounds.

Concepcion called the DOST grant a “starting point,” and said the program will harness the country’s marine biodiversity.

In terms of marine biodiversity, she said the Philippines has a competitive advantage over other countries.

“Our marine environment is home to 32 out of the 34 phyla of organisms, and home to over 12,000 species of (turrid snails),” Concepcion said.

She added that the program will also contribute to the “documentation and conservation of Philippine marine biodiversity.”

Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro, for her part, said the program would “greatly benefit (Filipinos) since in the end, medicines will be cheaper, therefore more accessible to the public.”

The Pharmaseas team will be composed of local research scientists and medical doctors as well as foreign-based scientists who will serve as collaborators.

Aside from the MSI, several institutes such as the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD) and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine will be involved with the project.

On hand for the MOA signing was PCAMRD director Rafael Guerrero.