...the Asian neighbors

ASEAN neighbors eyed as comm'l market for Filipino-made dengue-preventive device

By MELODY M. AGUIBA

April 23, 2011

Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines – The government may open up commercial release of its dengue-preventive mosquito trap to nearby South East Asian neighbors, as this has regional market potential owing to its “organic” nature.

Programmed to already mass produce the ovicidal and larvicidal (OL) mosquito trap locally, a multi-governmental group expressed possibility of exploiting the intellectual property (IP) asset for the Filipino-developed device.

“We have an organic substance that can be used (for dengue control). So it has the greatest potential for global consumption. We’re proud to say that because other countries have attempted using synthetic products. But the Philippines embarked on something friendly and non-toxic,” said Dr. Lilian A. De Las Llagas, board of regents member of technology-developer University of the Philippines System, in a press briefing.

The OL trap has tremendous potential for commercialization not only among private companies domestically, but within South East Asia where countries have been plagued by dengue. This is a disease tagged by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the fastest-emerging infections and one for which no drug or vaccine has yet been developed.

The Philippines can then come in through this technology to explore its IP assets and somehow also establish commercial opportunities in the health sector.

Business entities are already interested in commercializing the technology.

“We will earn from royalties here because it’s a result of our R&D (research and development) budget,” said Industrial Technology and Development Institute (ITDI) Director Nuna Almanzor. “There are already people that inquired from us on how they can become adopters. They need to invest on the equipment to produce the OL traps since we’re just producing it from our laboratory now.”

The OL trap is highly marketable for its low cost of less than P10 per piece. The entire package consists of a strip of “lawanit” board that has the wet organic black paint that attracts the female, dengue-carrying female mosquito. The solution on the board has the pellets made from organic compounds derived from plants that are toxic to the mosquitoes, but not to human.

An advantage of the OL trap is its ability to prevent the disease, a move recognized by many countries to be a primary solution to this global disease.