Phl must work with Asean nations in developing S&T, say scientists

MANILA, Philippines - Local scientists who spoke during the 2013 Novartis Biotechnology Leadership Camp (Local BioCamp) underscored the importance of working with the country’s Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) neighbors in developing science and technology (S&T).

Novartis Healthcare Philippines and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) organized this year’s Local BioCamp with the theme “ASEAN Harmonization in Research” in recognition of the key role S&T plays in enhancing the quality of Philippine healthcare and sustaining economic growth.

Held at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Conference Center in Makati City, the annual biotech workshop brought together promising graduate and postgraduate students in the field of natural sciences and respected Filipino scientists.

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 envisages 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.

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

The 2013 Local BioCamp resource speakers and respective topics were Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo (Philippines’ R&D Vision); Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona (Health System Research Management in DOH); Dr. Jaime Montoya, executive director, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (ASEAN Network for Drugs, Diagnostics, Vaccines and Traditional Medicine); Dr. Serafin Talisayon, director for R&D, Center for Conscious Living Foundation Inc. (ASEAN Harmonization and Knowledge Management); lawyer Ricardo Blancaflor, director-general, Intellectual Property Philippines (Intellectual Property Harmonization within ASEAN); Dr. Marita Reyes, co-chair, Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (Research Ethics Perspectives on ASEAN Harmonization); Dr. Jose Enrico Lazaro, assistant professor, National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of the Philippines-Diliman (Latest Developments in Health Research in the Philippine Drug Delivery System); Dr. Mark Pierre Dimamay, scientist, Research and Biotechnology Division, St. Luke’s College Medical Center (Point of Care for Dengue); Dr. Nina Rosario Rojas, associate professor, School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University (Two Stories, Two Journeys in Bioinformatics); and Prof. Maoi Arroyo, founder and CEO, Hybridigm Consulting Inc. (The Philippine BioIndustry: a Synthesis of our role in the ASEAN).

Alexandre Jetzer, member-emeritus of the board of directors of Novartis AG, spoke on “Science, Research and the Young Generation of Scientists: Learning from European Union Harmonization,” while Thomas Weigold, president and managing director Novartis Healthcare Philippines talked about “The ASEAN Healthcare Community: Implications and Challenges.”

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. 25-29 at the Novartis Campus in Basel, Switzerland. Selection is based on academic excellence and professional experience. Novartis shoulders all travel and accommodation expenses of the country’s representatives to the International BioCamp.

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, 14 young Filipino scientists have participated in the International BioCamp.