Ascend Rx brings specialty compounding to the Philippines
Ascend Rx, a specialty compounding pharmacy, launched in the Philippines. See its FDA licenses, senior and PWD discounts, and public hospital reach.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
10/4/20264 min read
Ascend Rx, a physician-focused specialty compounding pharmacy, made its formal Philippine debut on Sept. 24 at the PRIMA ASEAN Congress on Longevity, Regenerative Medicine, and Human Optimization, where it served as the official specialty compounding partner of the Philippine Regenerative and Integrative Medical Association (PRIMA).
The launch introduces Ascend Rx to the country's medical community. The pharmacy says it will support physicians and health care institutions with personalized medicines for patients whose prescriptions call for a strength, dosage form, or formulation that commercially available products do not offer.
"Compounding is not simply about providing medication. It is a specialized pharmaceutical discipline that requires licensed pharmacists, appropriate facilities, established procedures, and close collaboration with physicians," said Xenia Ruth Limatoc, RPh, Ascend Rx's head of regulatory and compliance.
"Specialty compounding can provide physicians with an additional option when a commercially available medicine does not appropriately meet a patient's prescribed needs, such as when a different strength, dosage form, or formulation is required," she added.
Licenses and compliance standards
Ascend Rx operates under Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licenses covering sterile compounding, non-sterile complex compounding, and the dispensing of vaccines and biologicals. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) also licenses it to dispense customized formulations that contain regulated drugs, subject to applicable controls.
Its laboratory is designed to meet USP <795> and USP <797> requirements, with specific controls aligned with USP <800> for handling hazardous drugs. Together with professional oversight and local regulations, these international standards make up what the company calls a quality- and compliance-led approach to specialty compounding.
Pharmacist-to-physician model
Ascend Rx splits the work between the two professions. Physicians decide what a patient needs clinically and write the prescription. Pharmacists then assess whether the prescribed formulation can be prepared and advise on points such as strength and dosage form.
Panel for Ascend Rx official launch from left: Xenia Ruth Limatoc, Head of Regulatory and Compliance, AIX Ventures Corporation; Benjamin G. Topacio, Director and Head of Sales, AIX Ventures Corporation; Marjorie Manrique-Vizco, RPh, Director and Head of Compounding, AIX Ventures Corporation; Sofia Alberto-Lista, Business Development Consultant, AIX Ventures Corporation; Hudson Polonini, BPharm, MSc, PhD, Global R&D Leader, Fagron, and Dr. Victor Zapanta, Neonatologist
Launch at the PRIMA ASEAN Congress
The congress ran Sept. 24-26 at the Grand Hyatt Manila. Now in its 11th year, it gathers physicians, health care professionals, researchers, educators, and advocates to discuss longevity, regenerative medicine, and integrative medicine.
Ascend Rx used its partner status to talk with attendees about responsible compounding, personalized pharmaceutical care, and how physicians and pharmacists can work together for patients with individualized medication needs.
"PRIMA brings together physicians who are looking at how medical practice continues to evolve and how they can better respond to changing patient needs. This aligns with the direction Ascend Rx wants to take, supporting physicians with professionally guided pharmaceutical options when a patient's prescribed needs call for a more individualized formulation," said Sofia Alberto-Lista, business development consultant at AIX Ventures Corp.
Two international speakers joined the program. Dr. Rebecca Poet, a women's health specialist based in London, presented "Personalized Hormone Optimization for Women's Long-term Health." Hudson Polonini, PharmD, MSc, global research and development director of Fagron, presented "The Science and Quality Behind Personalized Compounding."
At the booth, licensed pharmacists and physicians showed attending doctors how specialty compounding works, walked them through the equipment and processes at Ascend Rx's facility, and explained how physicians can collaborate with pharmacists when a prescription requires an individualized formulation.
Public hospitals and provincial reach
Ascend Rx works with physicians from both private and public institutions, including the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), according to Limatoc. The pharmacy counts private hospitals such as Asian Hospital and Medical City among its partners and plans to strengthen ties with health care professionals and institutions outside Metro Manila, including in the provinces.
"As a specialty compounding pharmacy, we aim to make professionally guided and quality-led compounding solutions more accessible to patients who require specialized medications, regardless of where they are being treated," Limatoc said
Plans for compounding in the Philippines
Ascend Rx honors the statutory benefits for qualified senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in line with government regulations, Limatoc said.
Existing rules on medicine discounts do not always address compounded preparations specifically. The pharmacy therefore aligned its policies with the intent of those benefits, she explained, so that qualified patients get access to medicines and the discounts are applied appropriately and consistently.
Ascend Rx’s booth at the PRIMA ASEAN Congress featured equipment and sample formulations used to introduce attending physicians to the specialty compounding pharmacy and its approach to personalized pharmaceutical care
Senior citizen and PWD discounts
Patients may obtain their prescribed compounded medications from Ascend Rx, subject to applicable prescription and regulatory requirements, Limatoc said.
She said compounding gives patients another option when a medication is not readily available in a standard commercial formulation, and it can help ease the limited local supply of certain specialized drugs. Some patients, she added, may find that having a medication compounded locally costs less than sourcing it from abroad.
Access to specialized medications
Beyond PRIMA, the company says it wants to help develop pharmaceutical compounding in the country. It plans to work with health care professionals, academic institutions, industry players, and policymakers on national compounding guidelines grounded in local practice. It also supports professional and academic communities through partnerships, collegiate internship programs, and educational initiatives.
Ascend Rx also sees room to build local expertise in specialty compounding and to open new paths for Filipino pharmacists and other pharmaceutical professionals to develop specialized skills.
Through its pharmacist-to-physician model, the company aims to strengthen collaboration between the two professions while keeping personalized care tied to valid prescriptions, professional oversight, quality, and regulatory compliance.