MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led PiVOT, the Philippines’ leading local contract research organization (CRO), celebrated recently its fifth anniversary by gathering in one venue in Manila key players shaping the future of clinical research in the country.
The gathering, dubbed PINNACLE 2024 and held late April at The Fifth at Rockwell Makati, offered a unique platform for top principal investigators, representatives from regulatory bodies, and other leading figures to network and discuss the future of the clinical research landscape.
CROs provide outsourced and contractual support, mainly in the form of research services, to companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. CRO services, which include studies and clinical trials for new drugs, help reduce costs for companies developing these new medications.
During the gathering, PiVOT’s acting general manager Ella Mae Ortega welcomed guests and shared PiVOT’s journey from its operational startup in 2019 with 10 employees to its status today as the largest Philippine CRO with over a hundred total manpower complement. As a CRO, PiVOT has so far completed 16 clinical trials, which involved roughly 40,000 participants.
In his speech at PINNACLE 2024, PiVOT president Joaquin “Jajo” Quintos IV urged stakeholders to seize the opportunity for the Philippines so it will become a major player in the global clinical research landscape.
Quintos emphasized the need for collaboration within the Philippine clinical research sector. He compared the sector to the business process outsourcing industry, whose success highlights the importance of a unified front to attract global investment.
“The Philippines ticks all the boxes for sponsors seeking new and diverse markets,” Quintos stated. “We have a large population, a skilled medical workforce, competitive costs, and adherence to international standards. However, the global market is unaware of this potential. We, as stakeholders, need to work together to showcase our efficiency and reliability,” Quintos said.
Quintos concluded by emphasizing the importance of local drug development and by leveraging the Philippines’ rich biodiversity for potentially groundbreaking treatments.
“Our goal with PINNACLE 2024 was to spark a collective discussion on how we can build the Philippine clinical research industry into a powerhouse,” Quintos declared. “A million-mile journey starts with a single step. Let’s take that step now!”
PiVOT is the marketing brand of Pi Health, Inc., one of the health service subsidiaries of Lopez-led conglomerate First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH). Other health service subsidiaries of FPH include Asian Eye Institute and The Medical Services of America (Philippines) Inc.