With right partnership, Nigeria can lead vaccine production in Africa- Adigwe
Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja
Following calls by Nigerians and stakeholders on the need to embark on local vaccine production, the Director-General of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Dr. Obi Adigwe, has said that with the right partnerships, Nigeria can lead in the production of vaccines in Africa.
Adigwe revealed that the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has presented the need for the growth of pharmaceutical products
“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique opportunities for the growth of pharmaceutical products, intellectual property rights and education worldwide”, he said.
He made this disclosure during a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Health, Senator Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora, in preparation for a national colloquium being organised by NIPRD in partnership with a law firm with offices in Nigeria and Ghana- AELEX.
The Minister of State for Health and the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, will deliver papers during the colloquium which would be hosted via virtual platform on Friday with the theme: “Improving Access to COVID-19 Vaccines and other Interventions: Intellectual Property, Patent Waivers and other Critical Factors”.
Adigwe disclosed that NIPRD was the first African institute to develop a world class phytomedicine from drug discovery up to phase two clinical trials and is also repurposing Niprimune, its flagship immunomodulatory agent for relevant clinical studies for COVID-19.
He noted that, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, NIPRD pioneered and strongly advocated for indigenous manufacturing of hand sanitisers from locally sourced raw materials.
In his response, Senator Mamora, applauded the NIPRD DG for the good work the institute has been doing in recent times, especially, in the fight against COVID-19.
The Minister, however, said that his ministry and its agencies have done extremely well in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
He particularly commended agencies like NIPRD, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), for demonstrating high level competence in the fight against the COVID-19.
In a similar visit to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the Minister commended the NIPRD Director General “for the sustained strive to reengineer the institute towards meeting the great expectations of providing solutions in the Pharma industry.
Dr Onu, however, charged Nigerian scientists to emulate their counterparts in China and Singapore whom, he said, changed the landscape of their countries through productive Research and Development (R&D) outputs.
He expressed confidence that Nigeria too can eradicate extreme poverty in the land through the combined efforts of R&D establishments.
