This document summarizes the development of Lagundi cough syrup from herbal folklore in the Philippines to a modern medicine. It describes how the National Integrated Research Program on Medicinal Plants (NIRPROMP) isolated Lagundi as a natural source for an effective herbal medicine in 1995. NIRPROMP then developed Lagundi into both a cough tablet and syrup formulation. The intellectual property for Lagundi is owned by the Department of Science and Technology, who licensed it to pharmaceutical companies. Lagundi cough medicine became widely successful due to marketing and advertising campaigns by licensees like Pascual Laboratories.

1. Case study 12-From Herbal Folklore to Modern
Medicine
PRESENTATION BY:
AQUINO, MARK WARREN M.
BRAVO, JON ERIZ S.
REFORMADO, KIM PAOLO A.
ADAMSON UNIVERSITY
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
CE 308-INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
PRESENTATION TO:
TOMAS U. GANIRON JR, PhD.

2. National Integrated Research Program
on Medicinal Plants, Philippines
❑ 1974. THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES MANILA (UPM), SEVERAL OTHER
UNIVERSITIES AND GOVERNMENTAL RESEARCH AGENCIES WORKING UNDER THE
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DOST) COLLABORATED ON THE
FORMATION OF THE NATIONAL INTEGRATED RESEARCH PROGRAM ON MEDICINAL
PLANTS (NIRPROMP).
❑ NIRPROMP. WAS ESTABLISHED TO ADDRESS THE RISING COSTS OF IMPORTED
PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE USED FOR FREQUENT AILMENTS
SUCH AS THE COMMON COLD, FEVER AND HEADACHES.
❑ 1995. NIRPROMP ISOLATED VITEX NEGUNDO, ALSON KNOWN AS “LAGUNDI”,AS A
NATRAL SOURCE FOR DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE HERBAL MEDICINE.

3. INVENTION
FOLLOWING THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF LAGUNDI COUGH TABLETS,
NIRPROMP RESEARCHERS WORKED TO ALSO DEVELOP THE MEDICINE IN A
SYRUP FORM.
❑ 1999. NIRPROMP SUCCESSFULLY ALTERED THE FORMULATION FOR LAGUNDI
COUGH TABLETS INTO A LAGUNDI COUGH SYRUP
❑ THE NEW SYRUP FORMULATION USES DECOCTION TO EXTRACT THE ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS FROM LAGUNDI LEAVES. DECOCTION

4. UTILITY MODEL
BECAUSE NIRPROMP’S RESEARCH WAS FUNDED BY DOST AND WAS A
COLLABORATION BETWEEN UPM AND PCHRD, A SECTORAL COUNCIL OF DOST
❑ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) IS MANAGED AND OWNED BY DOST.
❑1999. DOST APPLIED FOR A UTILITY MODEL WITH THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF
THE PHILIPPINES FOR AN HERBAL PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITION THAT IS BASED ON
LAGUNDI.
❑ FEBRUARY 2OO1. THE UTILITY MODEL WAS APPROVED AND ISSUED

5. LICENSING AND COMMERCIALIZATION
❑HERBAFARM. THE FIRST LICENSEE FOR THE LAGUNDI.
❑HERBAFARM IS A FILIPINO PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY WHICH USED LAGUNDI GROWN
FROM ITS OWN FARMS AND AT AN IN-HOUSE MANUFACTURING FACILITY AT A DOST
COMPOUND.
❑PASCUAL LABORATORIES. ALSO A FILIPINO PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY BECOME
MOST SUCCESSFUL LICENSEE OF LAGUNDI TECHNOLOGY.
❑1996. PASCUAL’S PRODUCT WAS APPROVED BY BUREAU OF FOO AND DRUGS AND
CONTINUE TO BE ON SALE IN THE MARKET.

6. ❑ISSUE
MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AND SOME IN THE PUBLIC DID NOT CONSIDER HERBAL
MEDICINE TO BE AN EFFECTIVE FORM OF MEDICAL THERAPY.
❑SOLUTION
To counter this problem, Pascual launched a marketing campaign to improve the
image of herbal treatments and lagundi cough medicine.
• FIRST SRATEGY, TO PROMOTE THE DRUG DIRECTLY TO THE MEDICAL PRACTITIONER.
• SECOND, IN 1997 PASCUAL SUBMITTED IT TO THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF NEW
PRODUCTS, INVENTIONS AND TECHNIQUES IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, TO VERIFY ITS
EFFECTIVENESS AND IT WAS AWARDED THE SILVER CERTIFICATE FOR R&D

7. ❑LATE 1990S AND 2000’S. PASCUAL AND OTHER PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES
MARKETING LAGUNDI COUGH MEDICINE PICKED UP THE PACE OF THEIR ADVERTISING
CAMPAIGNS
❑2006. PASCUAL WAS RUNNING TELEVISION COMMERCIALS DURING POPULAR MORNING
SHOWS AND ADVERTISING ON THE RADIO AND BILLBOARDS.
❑2009. HERBS AND NATURE CORPORATION ENTERED INTO A LICENSING AGREEMENT AND
LAUNCHED ITS OWN LAGUNDI COUGH MEDICINE
❑2010. HERBCARE AND PHARMACARE ALL DID THE SAME AND INTRODUCED LAGUNDI
COUGH MEDICINE PRODUCTS TO THE MARKET.

8. TRADEMARKS
RECOGNIZING THE NEED TO PROTECT ITS POPULAR BRAND NAMES AND THE SUCCESS OF
THE EFFORTS OF PASCUAL AND OTHER COMPANIES
❑JANUARY 2011. PASCUAL APPLIED FOR TRADEMARKS WITH IP PHILIPPINES FOR ASCOF,
ASCOF LAGUNDI, AND A STYLIZED LOGO THAT INCLUDES AN IMAGE OF A LAGUNDI LEAF
❑FEBRUARY 2009. TREVENODD CORPORATION (TREVENODD), A NEWCOMER TO THE
INDUSTRY, APPLIED FOR A TRADEMARK REGISTRATION FOR ITS PLEMEX BRAND LAGUNDI
COUGH MEDICINE, WHICH WAS REGISTERED IN AUGUST OF THAT SAME YEAR.

9. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
❑2009. THE TECHNOLOGY FOR LAGUNDI TABLETS AND SYRUP WAS TRANSFERRED
THROUGH LICENSING AGREEMENTS BETWEEN PCHRD, A GOVERNMENT ENTITY, AND THE
PRIVATE SECTOR.
❑REPUBLIC ACT 10055, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “PHILIPPINE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
ACT OF 2009”
❑OCTOBER 2010. AZARIAS PHARMACEUTICAL LABORATORIES, INC. (AZARIAS) MADE AN
APPLICATION TO UPM TO BECOME THE FIRST LICENSEE OF LAGUNDI SYRUP UNDER THIS
NEW FRAMEWORK.
❑JANUARY 2011. THE LICENSING AGREEMENT WAS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND BETWEEN A
PUBLIC R&D ORGANIZATION (UPM) AND A PRIVATE CORPORATION (AZARIAS) IN THE
PHILIPPINES SINCE THE ACT WAS RATIFIED IN 2010.

10. BUSINESS RESULT
❑1994. LAGUNDI COUGH MEDICINE WAS FIRST LAUNCHED IT FACED AN UPHILL BATTLE OF
CONSUMER SKEPTICISM
❑THE DRUF HAS BEEN A SUCCESS FOR THE COMPANIES THAT HAVE BEEN
COMMERCIALIZED IT AS WELL AS NIRPROMP, PCHRD, AND DOST
❑2009. THE ROYALTIES RECEIVED BY THE DOST INCREASED FROM PHP 160,000
(APPROXIMATELY US $4,000) IN 1997 TO PHP 9,751,000 (APPROXIMATELY US $210,000)
❑THE SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIALIZATION OF LAGUNDI HAS ALSO BEEN BENEFICIAL FOR
THE MANY FARMERS THAT GROW AND SELL THE SHRUB TO MANUFACTURERS