Unilab marks 80th year with strengthened Watsons partnership

UNILAB and Watsons executives celebrate the ShareTheAlaga partnership between the two companies.

THE word “alaga,” which means care in English, brings forth feelings of comfort and love. Everyone, at some point in their lives, has been cared for either by a parent, sibling, friend, or even a stranger.

As it marks its 80th year, pharmaceutical and healthcare company Unilab has teamed up with Watsons for its ShareTheAlaga campaign to be brought to consumers via the health, wellness and beauty retailer’s thousands of stores and  digital platforms such as the Watsons App and its Click & Collect Service. Through in-store activations, digital platforms and community medical missions, the campaign incorporates Unilab’s values—Husay, Malasakit, and Bayanihan—to bring medical and wellness necessities to Filipinos in a timely manner.

Unilab’s brands include Biogesic, Ceelin, Enervon, Neozep, Alaxan, Decolgen, Revicon, Medicol, Growee, Solmux, Conzace, ImmunPro, and Forti-D. The company also has a subsidiary, RiteMED, which focuses on generic drug products.

JOWEEH LIAO (right), director of finance, property development and health business at Watsons Philippines, hands a gift of a painting using recycled materials to Unilab President and CEO Backy Baquiran.

“It’s a legacy rooted not just in medicine and health products, but in our enduring promise to extend Alagang Unilab—to stand alongside every Filipino in their journey toward better health and a more fulfilling life. What defines Unilab is more than our portfolio; it’s our purpose and our values. ‘Husay,’ in everything we do—our pursuit of excellence, innovation, and quality. ‘Malasakit,’ the genuine care we bring to each person we serve. And ‘Bayanihan,’ the spirit of collective action that reminds us we’re all in this together,” said Backy Baquiran, president and CEO at Unilab Inc.

“Through this continued steadfast partnership, we are able to deliver what matters most to our shoppers—quality health, trusted wellness products, an exemplary brand of service that goes beyond, whether instore or online. We’ve always shared one goal, to meet our customers health and wellness needs and offer them the alaga they most deserve,” said Joweeh Liao, director of finance, property development and health business at Watsons Philippines.

“Alagang Unilab has always been at the heart of what we do, so it was important for us to find partners who truly understood that,” said Alex Panlilio, Unilab corporate vice president and head of sales and customer development.

The Unilab-Watsons partnership was sealed during an event with Watsons and Unilab official at Unilab’s main headquarters.

Meanwhile, Unilab has embarked on a strategic business transformation initiative powered by RISE with SAP for a comprehensive transformation journey to help enterprises transition to cloud ERP and unlock the full potential of the SAP Business Suite. This will enable Unilab to revamp its business processes with AI-powered enterprise applications. The company is using SAP S/4HANA Cloud—offered as part of RISE with SAP—to drive standardization, operational efficiency, and economies of scale.

Unilab is adopting RISE with SAP on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enhance decision-making and operational efficiency. This will hasten modernization of its core ERP systems and introduce new solution components and capabilities, powered by SAP Business Suite, including SAP Business AI and SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). Simply put, it will help equip Unilab with the ability to better navigate the complexities of the pharmaceutical industry.

Unilab is also streamlining its supply chain and manufacturing processes, and integrating more automation and data analytics to drive greater efficiency.