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| NEW TECH-TRANSFER LAW MAY HASTEN BIOTECH COMMERCIALIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES |
| 30-April-2010 SEARCA BIC Press Release |
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The country beefs up commercialization of government-funded technologies through the enactment of the Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2009, signed recently by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The passing of this key legislation will indeed benefit public-sector R&D, such as biotechnology, and it will also encourage local scientists to transfer their technologies from laboratory to the market. Several R&D efforts in the government institutions and state colleges and universities remain to be untapped, and commercialization of these technologies is hampered due to lack of well-defined policy and insufficient government investment on technology transfer and incubation. This resulted to the minimal patent applications and depleted number of patent grants of government R&D institutions with only one patent granted in 2005, courtesy of the International Rice Research Institute, and another one on the sambong herbs of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in 2006. DOST Secretary Estrella Alabastro affirmed that the law has mandated the grant of incentives to scientists in the form of royalties, which in turn, allowing them to have venture capital for start-up companies. It also speeds-up the process of technology commercialization systematically and broadens intellectual property assertions in the country. For related information regarding this article, visit http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24453:tech-transfer-law-seen-to-boost-rad-economy&catid=23:topnews&Itemid=58. For additional updates on biotechnology in the Philippines send
an e-mail to bic@agri.searca.org or visit the SEARCA Biotechnology
Information Center website at www.bic.searca.org. (Rochella
B. Lapitan, SEARCA BIC) |
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| SEAMEO SEARCA Biotechnology Information
Center http://www.bic.searca.org  |
