The most well known biopiracy in the Philippines is the theft of an antibiotic extract from a soil in the province of Iloilo which became the world-known drug erythromycin. It was isolated by a Philippine scientist Abelardo Aguilar who was then working with the Eli Lilly Co. and who was from the province of Iloilo. Upon Aguilar's discovery of the new drug, he was promised by Eli Lilly a hefty share of the profits. Despite the millions of dollars earned by erythromycin and with the Philippine government's intervention that Aguilar be recognized and be given a share, Aguilar and his relatives received nothing until recently. Human tissues are even being owned by companies through human tissue piracy and tissue culture.
Tissue culture is the reproduction of a microorganism, plant and animal cells in the laboratory.
The culture of human cells is crucial for the biotechnology industry. Nothing was heard from the scientists after they collected blood and hair samples from the ethnic peoples. It should be recalled that in 1996, Hagahai tribes peoples in Papua New Guinea gave blood, tissue, and hair samples to American anthropologist Carol Jenkins in exchange for soap, candies and chocolates. Unknown to the Hagahais, their tissues were used to create an anti-leukemia drug. The tribe's blood contained HTLV-1 which is resistant to the illness.