RiteMed launches herbal cough product

MANILA, Philippines - RiteMed, a division of Filipino multinational United Laboratories, Inc., has launched StopCoughLagundi, a herbal medicine that signals its entry into the burgeoning industry that has its roots in a government program that seeks to promote indigenous herbs with medicinal properties.                              

The RiteMed herbal product arose from numerous clinical trials and tests that included ensuring that the plant materials are subject to pharmaceutical quality assurance to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination and that the active ingredients from the herbal plant is sustained over a period of time consistent with the desired efficacy of the herbal product.                              

The Unilab division made sure that the formulation for its herbal entrant is of high quality and proven safe during the many trials that the StopCoughLagundi went through before production for the herbal drug began. For this, the RiteMed herbal group utilized the expertise of the scientists from the National Integrated Research Program of the Medicinal Plants, or NIRPROMP, of the University of the Philippines Manila to ensure the right formulation process for the herbal medicine.

NIRPROMP, which started its advocacy to initially identify Philippine plants and herbs that have proven medicinal properties back in 1970, has been at the forefront of the government’s efforts to provide cheap medicine to the Filipinos through the supply of herbal medicines.                               

The NIRPROMP battle cry is to provide safe, effective, and affordable healthcare products via herbal medicines and it has so far identified 10 medicinal plants in the Philippines that have been approved by the Department of Health. These 10 that have been thoroughly tested are akapulko, ampalaya, bawang, bayabas, lagundi, niyog-niyogan, sambong, ulasimang bato, tsaang gubat and yerba buena.

Also in the UP Manila NIRPROMP agenda is the research into other herbal medicines that could produce complex medicines. Research is now under way for herbal extracts that could provide possible cure for digitalis, arrythmia, tuberculosis, infective-microbials, and cancer.

The government-sponsored program is now deep into its second mission which is to “discover better cures and to support scientific research and the Filipino drug industry.” Later on, the group eyes the export of pharmaceutical preparations for world consumption.                                 

RiteMed is expected to venture into other drug preparations in the herbal medicine domain in collaboration with DOST and NIRPROMP. It is also open to research and development collaborations with other universities and research institutions for the establishment of science-based, clinically-supported herbal industry using indigenous plant materials. The company’s entry into the herbal medicine market signifies total commitment to the formulation, manufacturing and quality assurance processes that adhere not only to the NIRPROMP guidelines but also to Unilab’s international standards.