SOME 30 Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) delegates lauded the UST Center for Drug Research, Evaluation and Studies, Inc. (UST-Cedres) after touring its facilities at the UST Hospital last Feb. 24.
According to Parulian Simanjuntak, executive director of the Indonesian-based International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group, UST-Cedres can even help achieve the standardization of Indonesia’s generic drugs and improve their marketability worldwide.
“(UST-Cedres) could serve as a basis for our industry to grow and attain standardization (of generic drugs),” he said.
The delegates included businessmen, pharmacists, and doctors from Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand.
UST-Cedres president Dr. William Torres said the Center hopes to expand its drug testing services nationwide and even to its Asean neighbors.
“We are still a ‘baby’ but we expect to add 26 new compounds by the next three years,” Torres said. “We also plan to establish two more centers with two other universities, the University of the Philippines and De La Salle University.”
Torres added that UST-Cedres is even capable of conducting over 60 drug studies a year, matching World Health Organization standards.
The Asean meet marked the ninth of such meetings since 2000. The last assembly was held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2004, Torres said.
