THE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) – Business Innovation through S&T (BIST) for Industry Program funded four new projects to upgrade the research and development activities of four local companies.

The newly approved projects pumped the budget provided by DOST BIST Program to over P120 million pesos to acquire relevant technologies and improve their business.

Bauertek Corporation, Cofiport, Incorporated, Pascual Pharma Corporation and the Batangas Egg Producers Cooperative (BEPCO) were the four local companies featured to have funding opportunities during the “IKnowvation” forum of the DOST National Science, Technology, and Innovation Week held at the Iloilo Convention Center on Friday, November 24, 2023.

“The DOST is keen in making the Philippines an innovation economy – where knowledge, entrepreneurship, technology, and collaboration are the key drivers of economic growth,” said DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr. “We encourage industry members to increase their value through programs like DOST BIST and start creating new ideas which can be developed into products, services, and business models that would bring us collectively into a better future.”

The DOST-BIST Program aims to provide financial assistance to Filipino private companies for the acquisition of strategic and relevant technologies so they can undertake their R&D. The financial assistance, which may only be used to purchase high-tech equipment or to secure technology licensing and/or patent rights, will be refunded to DOST at zero percent interest.

Those qualified to avail this funding are Filipino-owned companies or their consortium/ organization operating in the Philippines for at least three years.

For Cofiport, Inc. the company hopes to develop new products using 1) Stevioside powder for stevia-sweetened ready-to-drink beverages; 2) Freeze-dried banana fruits for healthier snack alternatives; and 3) Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) powder for the production of food supplements. These studies will also aid in developing these products from local community resources, particularly in the Bicol region.

The second DOST BIST grantee is BEPCO which seeks to expand their facilities and create new products. Another DOST BIST project with Bauertek Corporation, the primary objective of the project is to find a way in mass producing the extracts used in food supplements and drugs.

The fourth DOST BIST project with Pascual Pharma Corporation seeks to standardize the the herbal and medicinal uses for the sambong plant.

“Filipino companies that invest in R&D are not just contributors to local economy, but they are also global players,” said DOST Undersecretary for R&D Leah J. Buendia. “Investing in R&D also serves as a gateway to global collaborations, partnerships and market expansion. Thus, I encourage local business, from big companies to MSME’s to take the opportunities provided by DOST and invest in R&D.”

Pioneer companies that have made headway in creating new products and services include Bacolod-based pharmaceutical company Herbanext Laboratories, Inc. who easily became the leading spray-dried medicinal plant extracts derived from Philippine biodiversity. DOST BIST was able to fund their project to acquire relevant technologies in developing pharmecuetical-grade extracts from Tawa-tawa medicinal plants.

Iloilo-based Pharma GalenX is another pioneer DOST BIST Grantee with the acquisition of a 3D bioprinter to develop Human Skin Equivalents (HSE). This is in view of the company’s socially-responsible initiative to have a cruelty-free lab testing in their operations. The other pioneer BIST grantee include the multi-awarded Nanotronics, Inc. and the mobile biocontainment laboratory of the BioAssets Veterinary Research and Diagnostic Laboratory.

For companies interested to avail of funding opportunities from DOST BIST, they may reach out to the DOST Science for Change Program, 2nd Floor DOST Central Office Building, General Santos Avenue, Bicutan, Taguig. Interested parties may also check out www.s4cp.gov.ph.