New Drug Discovery, University of San Agustin, Iloilo, Philippines

In 2015, 𝗗𝗿. 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗿. 𝗗𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘆 did something their colleagues abroad couldn’t quite understand, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 to return to their hometown of Iloilo. Their destination? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻 (𝗨𝗦𝗔), and a modest research lab with big, untapped potential.

The timing wasn’t random. 𝗜𝗹𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆. About 70 years ago, a 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 and unknowingly laid the 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗺𝘆𝗰𝗶𝗻, one of the 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀. The discovery happened here. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.

These two scientists are 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.

“𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘺𝘤𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘐𝘭𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵,” Dr. Dalisay said.

“𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.”

So they got to work. From 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗵𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝘂𝗷𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗼, the team 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 across the archipelago in 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

And they found something remarkable, 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘆𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀, a 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗮 that has shown 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗥𝗦𝗔, one of the 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰-𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘂𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱.

𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆, some showing potential against ovarian cancer are 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, including the first-ever patent filed by the University of San Agustin.

To support the research, the 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗠𝗥 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗨𝗦𝗔 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮, eliminating the need to ship samples all the way to Manila and dramatically speeding up the process of identifying new compounds.

Today, the 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟯,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀, a growing archive that could fuel the next generation of medical breakthroughs.

The work isn’t staying in the lab either. Through a partnership with 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗫 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗜𝗻𝗰., the university has already brought products to market including 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘀®, a skin care line derived from kadios seeds, and 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲®, a wound gel made from Marajon Honey.

𝗨𝗦𝗔 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟯𝟬 𝗧𝘂𝗸𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 and a 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝘂𝗯 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆.

More than half a century after 𝗜𝗹𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗼’𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲’𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘀, the city is finally getting its due not as a source of raw material, but as a center of world-class science.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 

Meanwhile, here's an AI Overview of the Above Topic:

New Drug Discovery, University of San Agustin, Iloilo, Philippines 

Here’s an overview of New Drug Discovery and related research activities at the University of San Agustin (USA) in Iloilo City, Philippines, particularly as it relates to natural products research, biotechnology, and drug discovery initiatives:

 Drug Discovery & Research Centers at University of San Agustin

1. Centers Focused on Pharmaceutical Science & Natural Drug Discovery

USA hosts dedicated research units that actively work on discovering new therapeutic agents from natural sources:

• Center for Chemical Biology and Biotechnology (C2B2) – A hub for microbial and natural products research aimed at identifying bioactive compounds for health applications. C2B2 maintains one of the Philippines’ largest microbial biobanks to facilitate drug discovery research.

• Center for Natural Drug Discovery and Development (CND3) – Works alongside C2B2 to translate biological findings into potential therapeutic agents and functional health products.

In the past decade, these centers were established with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to advance drug discovery and development in the region.

 Key Drug Discovery Achievements

2. Patented Antibiotic Discoveries

USA researchers have achieved significant milestones in drug-related discoveries:

• Antibiotic-producing bacteria from marine sand – USA secured one of the first drug discovery–related patents in Western Visayas for isolating a Streptomyces strain and its antibiotic metabolites, led by Dr. Doralyn S. Dalisay and colleagues. This reflects foundational work toward novel antimicrobial agents.

• Kadios (Cajanus cajan)–based antibiotic innovation – In late 2025, the university obtained a Philippine patent for a method to purify antibiotic compounds from pigeon pea (kadios) seeds. This technology demonstrates potential activity against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and underpins a locally developed antibacterial product line.

These advancements show USA’s growing strength in translating natural product research into patentable, potentially commercializable drug technologies.

 Advanced Technology for Drug Discovery

3. Mass Spectrometry Imaging Capabilities

USA established the first mass spectrometry imaging center in the Philippines, equipped with advanced instruments (such as MALDI/DESI imaging systems) that enable researchers to:

• Visualize where drug molecules and metabolites go in biological tissues,

• Support the drug discovery pipeline for infectious diseases and cancer,

• Conduct translational biomedical research that bridges lab findings with therapeutic development.

This facility strengthens analytical capacity for identifying and validating drug candidates from natural and synthetic sources.

🤝 Collaboration, Knowledge Sharing & Capacity Building

4. Conferences & Partnerships

• USA’s research arms regularly host international conferences (e.g., the International Conference on Advanced Natural Products Technologies) that bring together scientists worldwide to share innovations in natural product drug discovery and technology translation.

• Collaborations with government (DOST) and industry partners help fund and translate research into health-benefiting products.

📌 Summary

In essence, University of San Agustin in Iloilo is becoming a regional hub for natural drug discovery through:

• Dedicated research centers (C2B2 & CND3) focused on finding bioactive compounds in microbes and plant sources,

• Advanced analytical technologies supporting drug development,

• Patentable discoveries with real medical and commercial potential,

• Collaborative research and knowledge exchange that push innovation beyond the laboratory.

  Personal Note: In 1955, After my Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry Graduation, my father informed me that he has communicated with the Rector/President of the University of San Agustin(USA) in Iloilo, who was our neighbor. The University was only about a 8 minutes walk from the Katague Building, where My father spends his days when away from our residence in Barotac Viejo. 

  My Father mentioned that if I want a Teaching Job in Chemistry at USA, He has talked to the Rector, and I he has offered me a job teaching Chemistry at USA. I declined the offer, instead, I chose the Teaching Job offered to me at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, QC where I graduated.  The rest is history. 

  Filipino culture explained

  Lastly, What is Filipino Culture?

  Filipino culture is a unique blend of different influences, shaped by the country's history, geography, and values. Here are some key aspects:

  Hospitality: Filipinos are known for their warm welcomes and hospitality. They often go out of their way to make guests feel at home.

  Family: Family is highly valued in Filipino culture. Close-knit families and respect for elders are deeply ingrained.

  Community: Filipinos tend to be community-oriented, often prioritizing the needs of the group over individual interests.

  Resilience: Filipinos are known for their ability to adapt to challenging situations and find joy in the midst of difficulties.

  Food sharing: Sharing food is a significant aspect of Filipino culture, symbolizing generosity, love, and community.

  Love for celebrations: Filipinos love to celebrate special occasions, such as fiestas, holidays, and life milestones, with music, dance, and feasting.

  Respect: Filipinos place great importance on respect for elders, tradition, and authority.

  Strong sense of bayanihan: The concept of "bayanihan" (solidarity or communal unity) is deeply rooted in Filipino culture, where people come together to help one another in times of need.