- July 27, 2021
DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña hailed Denver Chicano, proprietor of PatchMed Cosmetics Trading, for developing the perforated coco patch “Vermac”. “This company is amazing because I witnessed how they succeeded with their product lines,” he said.
Chicano, who served as a nurse at the Burn Unit of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), said they were grateful to DOST for providing the assistance to PatchMed, noting that their products actually started without bioequivalence throughout the world. “From a seed idea to an actual product, DOST SETUP (Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program) project helped us with the machines we need to manufacture our products,” Chicano said. Through Agency’s SETUP, the technology of producing a perforated wound patch made out of coconut for diabetic persons has been developed. “The product branded as Vermac prevents infection, especially for diabetic wound complication,” the DOST cited.
PatchMed’s coco patch is a natural wound dressing made from coco-cellulose fiber. De la Peña had noted that the coco patch “has proven effective through medical tests as an alternative to other wound dressings in the market.”
“The innovation in the coco patch, particularly the perforated design is intended to facilitate better moisture balance and more effective debridement (removal of necrotic debris and devitalize tissue from the wound),” the DOST chief said. He said Vermac is supplied to hospitals and wound care clinics, well-known humanitarian organizations and through online market. The DOST also cited Chicano for establishing the first wound care clinic in the Philippines called Alphacell Wound Clinic. “With the establishment of our clinic, we saw a problem with the diabetic patients na iba-iba ang ginagamit na standard for ointment at gasa. Because of this, we came up with perforated cellulose which has better moisture control and autolytic debridement for diabetic wounds”, Chicano said.
De la Peña cited that over the years, PatchMed has come up with new technologies for consumer skin protection and wound care. These include coco-cellulose material, anti-bacterial spray gel, coco-cellulose bandage. The DOST chief recalled that in 2012, the DOST-National Capital Region (NCR) through the SETUP provided autoclave and vacuum sealer to PatchMed to manufacture sterile intermediate and final product. He said in March 2021, the firm “availed its second cycle SETUP assistance where a laser cutting machine will be acquired for faster production of the perforated coco patch branded as Vermac (4 pieces/hour to 250 pieces/hour).”
“Cocopatch has won several awards such as UP-PGH Recognition, Tatak PGH Nurse Innovator Award, Most Promising Intellectual Property Award by Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Green Innovation Product 2014 and National Winner for the Creative Research Category during the 2014 National Invention Contest and Exhibits,” he cited.
REFERENCE: Manila Bulletin; 30 APR 2021; Charissa Luci-Atienza