Good news! A dengue cure developed by Filipino science researchers may finally be available in the market by 2020.
Yes! It’s the first anti-dengue medicine in the world and it’s created by Filipina Dr. Rita Grace Alvero and her team.
“It’s not a vaccine, it’s not herbal supplement. It is a drug that has an activity against the virus,” Dr. Rita Grace Alvero said at the “Talakayang HeaRTbeat” on December 16.
Dr. Rita Alvero, program leader of the Dengue Herbal Drug Clinical Trial of Pharmalytics Corp., presented the report on the dengue cure developed in partnership with the De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute and with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
“So, parang sinasabi natin na pag ininom ito ng pasyente, gagaling ‘yung kanyang signs and symptoms. So i-cure niya talaga yung dengue,” Dr. Alvero added.
The new drug is made from three herbs endemic to the Philippines. She revealed that their seven-year research and long study on the drug has shown great results against the dengue virus, having a 100% effectivity against the dengue virus even on patients with complications.
They were also able to prove that the drug has no side effects and safe. However, it will go through more tests for at least six months to determine its effectiveness.
The Department of health (DOH) expressed their hope and optimism for the drug’s potential to help thousands of patients and solve the dengue problem plaguing the country.
“Kasi hindi naman nila itutuloy to the phase 2 and 3 clinical trials ‘yan kung hindi mag-mukhang maganda yung resulta. Mukhang very promising naman talaga siya,” DOH undersecretary Eric Domingo said.
The project is funded and supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). The research is part of the Tuklas Lunas program of the agency which is focused on making new drugs for diseases that are commonly affecting Filipinos.
Filipino science research has turned up notable innovations, among the more recent, University of Santo Tomas’ Jay Patrick Nieles who won the 30th BPI-DOST Science Awards Project of the Year prize for developing a brain-computer that aids locked-in syndrome (LIS) and Christian Badua from the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila who won Best in Innovation Award for his study on how probiotics can be used to treat colon cancer.
Filipino scientists from De La Salle University Dasmarinas in Cavite had also discovered how squid ink can help in disaster management.
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