Herbanext Laboratories, Inc., a Filipino research-oriented natural products company based in Bago City, Negros Occidental, is the first grantee of R&D funding assistance to the private sector from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) under the Business Innovation through Science and Technology (BIST) Program.
The BIST Program aims to assist Filipino-owned companies to innovate and develop competitiveness through acquisition of new and relevant technologies for research. The program seeks to boost R&D in the private sector and to work towards achieving the UNESCO benchmark for developing countries such as the Philippines, to spend one percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on R&D.
“The rise in our global innovation ranking to 54th from 73rd the previous year validates our work and encourages us to continue our mission to strengthen R&D across the country,” said DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña.
As opportunities for R&D are created for Filipino companies, technologies and business innovations will equate to increased profitability.
The BIST assistance will be used to acquire pilot-scale R&D equipment to produce pharmaceutical-grade extracts for the local drug manufacturing industry. The proposed technology acquisition with its corresponding research and development must be implemented within three to five years with a refund, without interest, commencing on the third year of project implementation.
DOST also assisted Herbanext under the Tuklas Lunas Program to develop a standardize tawa-tawa extract to help alleviate symptoms of dengue. The product was registered with FDA as Herbal Food Supplement under the Daily Apple brand.
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