Novartis BioCamp 2013 to focus on ASEAN S&T harmony

MANILA, Philippines - Recognizing that science and technology (S&T) is a key factor in enhancing the quality of healthcare and sustaining economic growth, Novartis Healthcare Philippines and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology will hold the 2013 Novartis Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp) with a focus on how the Philippines can contribute to S&T harmonization in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

S&T is one of the key areas of cooperation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a regional economic alliance that ASEAN member-nations aim to achieve by 2015. 

The AEC envisions the following key characteristics: a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region fully integrated into the global economy.

ASEAN member-nations are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

With the theme “ASEAN Harmonization in Research,” this year’s Local BioCamp will be held on July 29 at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Conference Center in Makati City. Another Local BioCamp partner is the Intellectual Property Philippines (IPP).

First held in the Philippines in 2006, the local BioCamp has become one of the country’s biggest annual biotech workshops, bringing together promising young Filipino scientists and respected Filipino biotech experts and entrepreneurs.

Resource speakers for this year’s Local BioCamp include Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo; Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona; PCHRD executive director Dr. Jaime Montoya; Edsel Barba, deputy director general, ASEAN Philippines; Dr. Serafin Talisayon, director for R&D, Center for Conscious Living Foundation Inc.; Dr. Marita Reyes, co-chair, Philippine Health Research Ethics Board; Dr. Jose Enrico Lazaro, assistant professor, National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of the Philippines Diliman; Dr. Mark Pierre Dimamay, assistant professor 3, St. Luke’s College of Medicine; Dr. Nina Rosario Rojas, associate professor, School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University; and IPP director-general Atty. Ricardo Blancaflor.

Graduate and postgraduate students in the field of natural sciences are invited to register in the Local BioCamp. At the end of the local BioCamp, the top two students will be selected to represent the Philippines in the International BioCamp, which will be held on Aug. 25-28 at the Novartis campus in Basel, Switzerland.

The selection is based on academic excellence and professional experience. Novartis shoulders all travel and accommodation expenses of International BioCamp delegates.

International BioCamp delegates get an insider’s perspective of the challenges and opportunities in biotechnology today through seminars led by biotech leaders from around the world.

They learn from industry leaders the basic steps on how to start a biotech company; work together, learn and network with students from around the world; and find out about career-enhancing opportunities in biotech and the academe. To date, 13 young Filipino scientists have participated in the International BioCamp.

To register in the 2013 Local BioCamp, contact Gigi Berroya at (0939) 127-4746 or [email protected]; or Cecil Barrameda at (0917) 325-9549 or [email protected]. Deadline for registration is July 15. For more information, log on to www.novartis.com.ph or www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph.