Message of Secretary Enrique T. Ona During the Launch of the Institute of Personalized Molecular Medicine of The Medical City

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am pleased to speak before you in the launching of the Institute of Personalized Molecular Medicine at The Medical City.

This Institute has gathered among the best scientific and clinical specialists to provide advanced services in molecular medicine, including stem cells.

Stem cell programs are here in the Philippines, being carried by institutions among others such as The Medical City, which has the expert personnel, clinical facilities and advanced laboratory equipment and technologies, even more advanced than other institutions abroad.

It is important, however, that these treatments which are fast evolving should have a firm scientific basis, in order to ensure safety and gives the most effective outcomes. Personalization of medical treatments is increasingly being recognized worldwide as the best way to approach a particular disease or enhance wellness.

As the vanguard of the health of our people, the Department of Health is mandated to protect the public, by ensuring that only safe and ethical uses of stem cells are being used in the Philippines.

The general public has to be guided with the most current and accurate information about stem cells so that they are aware of various applications being touted, some of which are still purely experimental, to protect themselves and their loved ones.

The Department of Health has the responsibility and authority to regulate these cell treatments for human use and to provide information and guidance to the general public. For your information, I have formed a special task force to develop guidelines on the regulation and use of these advanced therapies for diseases.

We already know today that the safest and most effective cellular preparations are those that use the patients’ own cells – called autologous human cells. Thousands of patients worldwide have been treated over several decades with autologous human cells and their safety and efficacy is well established especially those derived from the bone marrow and peripheral blood. Umbilical cord stem cells also have a long track record of safety and efficacy.

However, there are other stem cell preparations that still need strict regulatory assessment before they are allowed for human use in the Philippines. Our patients must be made aware of this status. Thus, in the present situation when the public are presented with claims and counterclaims on the efficacy of various stem cell preparations, information on current scientific basis and acceptance especially in countries who have made the fundamental research on its used must be made available. In the meantime, the public should be made careful about receiving cell preparations that are being offered in the Philippines and elsewhere, such as embryonic, aborted fetal, genetically altered and especially animal stem cells.

I congratulate the staff and administration of The Medical City in its pioneering efforts in the establishment of this world class molecular medicine and stem cell treatment center in the Philippines. I am confident of the strict standard it is following and its careful application it offers to its patients.

Thank you very much and a pleasant day to all of us.