The National Institutes of Health (NIH), University of the Philippines Manila welcomed representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UP System Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO) on 5 August 2026 for a meeting on the proposed Health and Life Sciences Advanced Product Research and Quality Control Center (HLARQC) project, a sub-component of the UP System Advancing Skills, Competitiveness and Enterprise Development (ASCEND) project.