For the first time for the Philippines and the Asean region, a Filipina biochemist was awarded for her studies and discovery of an alternative to morphine minus side effects.
Prof. Lourdes Jansuy Cruz won the 2010 L’Oreal-Unesco For Women in Science Award for her efforts in discovering Conotoxins from marine snails. As biochemist at the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines, Dr. Cruz successfully worked on isolating peptides (a chain of amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins) from the venom of Conus snails. One of these peptides was developed by a US biotechnology firm and later bought by a pharmaceutical company to produce the non-addictive drug Prialt Ziconotodine, a primary alternative to morphine.
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