Rx: Effective, affordable natural medicines
With the partnership between Pascual Laboratories (PascualLab) and government agencies leading the research on phytomedicines (or plant-based drugs) 16 years ago, the Filipino-owned pharmaceutical company was able to offer a safer alternative to chemical cough preparations with Ascof Lagundi.
Since Ascof was launched in 1996, more and more doctors and mothers have trusted the brand, making it the most successful phytomedicine in the Philippines and the number two cough medicine brand on the market today. Through this invaluable relationship between PascualLab, The University of the Philippines, and the National Integrated Research Program on Medicinal Plants (NIRPROMP), consumers today have access to effective, natural, and all-organic medicines such as Ascof to help treat cough and asthma symptoms.
These organizations recently renewed their commitment towards safe and affordable medicines through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between Pascual Consumer Healthcare Corp. chairman Manuel D. Escueta, UP Manila chancellor Dr. Manuel B. Agulto, and NIRPROMP chairperson Dr. Nelia Cortes-Maramba. Also in attendance were several experts in the field of herbal research who have helped create awareness for herbal medicines and helped propel the market shift towards commercial medicinal medicine. These experts include Bureau of Food and Drugs director Leticia Barbara Gutierrez, UP National Institute of Health deputy executive director Dr. Marie Carmela Lapitan, and Institute of Herbal Medicine director Dr. Isidro Sia.
At this important occasion, PascualLab renewed its license agreement on the transfer of production technologies for medicinal plant products, particularly Ascof and Sambong Re-leaf Forte. In his message, chancellor Agulto said, “Pascual Laboratories has been successfully positioning Ascof as one of the leading cough remedies on the market. This signing activity is a reaffirmation of your trust in the mission and work of our researchers, which has opened the doors for the introduction and recognition of the beneficial properties and efficacy of herbal medicines in the Philippines. NIRPROMP’s success thus enables Filipinos to buy cheaper brands for asthma, cough, and bronchitis. Their research on other plants eventually led to the production of herbal medicines such as sambong, tsaang gubat, yerba buena, and akapulko tablets. UP Manila regards this partnership with Pascual Laboratories as timely and auspicious in view of our administration’s thrust of translational research as a tool for better health. I am optimistic that this partnership will contribute to our shared goal of quality health improvement and healthcare delivery for our countrymen.”
Dr. Cortes- Maramba, meanwhile, shared, “Our research began in 1974, when we noticed that our government was spending so much on purchasing health care drugs for common conditions such as cough or diarrhea. We believed even then that many of these could be treated by the herbal medicines that many of our traditional healers were already using in the countryside. Our goal was to produce medicines from the Philippines, researched by Filipinos, and made by a Filipino industry for Filipino consumers. From the very beginning, we did not want an academe producing the medicine; we wanted to encourage the Philippine industry to join us in this fight. And so, it is to the credit of Pascual Laboratories, that they gave recognition to the importance of herbal medicines.”
In behalf of PascualLab, Escueta said, “The partnership that started in 1996 has since been a very productive and successful collaboration that we have been able to position Ascof as the number two cough remedy brand on the market, and Sambong Re-Leaf as a major player in the treatment of uric acid conditions. We also hope to be able to support NIRPROMP’s next mission of finding herbal solutions to lifestyle diseases and communicable infections that are plaguing our countrymen today. We believe that there are still so many things that we can initiate and do in order to help Filipinos have safe and natural health remedies within their reach.”
As part of this commitment to making quality herbal medicines accessible to more Filipinos, PascualLab is set to roll out their third-generation technology for the production of Ascof. This will increase product output by three times and place even more stringent quality control measures to ensure the safety and efficacy of Ascof.