…Nigeria can lead vaccine production in Africa-Adigwe
By Hassan Zaggi
For their immense contribution in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister of State for Health, Senator Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora, has said that the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) deserve commendation from all Nigerians.
The Minister also commended agencies like 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.
He particularly commended the NIPRD Director General, Dr. Obi Adigwe for the good work the Institute has been doing in recent times, especially, in the fight against COVID-19.
Senator Adeleke Mamora gave the commendation when the NIPRD Director General, Dr. Obi Adigwe, paid him a courtesy visit in preparation for a national colloquium being organised by NIPRD in partnership with a law firm with offices in Nigeria and Ghana- ÁELEX.
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”.
Senator Adeleke Mamora, however, said that his ministry and its agencies have done extremely well in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking earlier, the NIPRD DG, Dr. Adigwe, said that giving the right environment, funding and the needed partnership, Nigeria can lead in the production of vaccines in Africa.
He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic presented what he described as “unique opportunities for the growth of pharmaceutical products, intellectual property rights and education worldwide.”
He 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.
Adigwe further 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 a similar visit paid by the NIPRD DG to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the Minister commended him “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 has the capacity and can eradicate extreme poverty in the land through the combined efforts of R&D establishments.
