By Zayamu Hassan
The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) has concluded plans to be deeply involved at the formal launch of the Africa Development Bank’s (AfDB) African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation.
It would be recalled that recently, the AfDB’s Board of Directors recently approved the establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation, a new groundbreaking institution that will significantly enhance Africa’s access to the technologies that underpin the manufacture of medicines, vaccines, and other pharmaceutical products.
During the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa in February 2022, the continent’s leaders called on the AfDB to facilitate the establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation.
The AfDB’s Group President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, while announcing the Foundation, said: “This is a great development for Africa. Africa must have a health defense system, which must include three major areas: revamping Africa’s pharmaceutical industry, building Africa’s vaccine manufacturing capacity, and building Africa’s quality healthcare infrastructure.”
Adesina, who presented the case for the institution to the AU said: “Africa can no longer outsource the healthcare security of its 1.3 billion citizens to the benevolence of others.”
Findings, however, revealed that NIPRD has fully galvanised resources and stakeholders to enable it play a major and prominent role in the continental initiative.
During the heat of COVID-19 pandemic, it would be recalled, NIPRD emerged as a major contributor to the national and global response.
NIPRD provided the internationally acclaimed analysis that underpinned many African Government’s categorical position on the Madagascan Covid Organics preparation.
This analysis went viral internationally, with scientists and policymakers around the world referencing NIPRD’s seminal work on the product.
With their work, millions of lives on the continent were saved, Africa conserved millions of Dollars that would otherwise have been expended on an unverified product, and research and development resources were prioritised to more effective solutions.
NIPRD for the first time in Nigeria’s history constituted an interdisciplinary team of over 20 eminent and erudite Professors drawn from various universities and geopolitical regions to form the National Scientific Advisory Committee (NSAC) on the verification of claims by Practitioners.
NIPRD’s Director General, Dr Obi Adigwe who convened the NSAC argued that the landmark achievement not only ensured that coronavirus cure claims are subjected to the highest international science, it also ensures that the highest relevant standards of safety and efficacy are maintained, in order to safeguard the lives of Nigerians.
The Institute also leveraged on its reputation as the first African Institute to develop a world class phytomedicine from drug discovery up to phase 2 clinical trials, to begin work on repurposing Niprimune, its flagship immunomodulatory agent for relevant clinical studies for COVID-19.
Under the current Director General, the Institute’s workforce has been transformed into a world class agency, where every single confirmed staff has received laptops and tablets to optimise their respective activities.
Similarly, there has been a tenfold increase in local and foreign trainings for researchers and non-technical staff, which has no doubt significantly impacted on the quality of the Institute’s work and consequently improved access to relevant health and socioeconomic variables.
