By Christine Fabro
The first phase of the trial on the use of anti-dengue capsules has already been completed and yielded promising results, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said.
In a virtual forum on Thursday (Aug. 19), Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said the DOST and a local medical startup company are preparing to launch the breakthrough herbal medicine within the year.
The project is funded by the DOST–Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) and is titled “Efficacy and Safety of Orally Administered Fixed Dose Combination Capsule of RGA02 + JRA01 + ASB02 in the Treatment of Dengue Without Warning Signs Among Adult Filipinos in Cavite: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled Trial.”
The DOST-Industrial Technology Development Institute said it will soon start a project to establish a Biosafety Level+2 facility.
“This will be the first significant step of DOST in attaining the goal of addressing the country’s efforts towards developing vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics,” Dela Peña said.
Meanwhile, DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevara said the capsule was developed using three herbal plants, which underwent “subsequent acute and sub chronic toxicity testing in animals.”
The Department of Health earlier said that in 2020, the Philippines had 83,335 reported dengue cases, in which 324 died. From January to April this year, there were 21,478 reported dengue cases, a 56% drop from the cases recorded in the same period last year. -rir
