NIPRD Touts Nigeria to Lead in Vaccine Production

Dr. Obi Adigwe, director-general, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), has said that with the right partnerships, Nigeria can lead the production of vaccines in Africa.

According to Adigwe, the COVID-19 pandemic presented what he described as “unique opportunities for the growth of pharmaceutical products, intellectual property rights and education worldwide.”

He stated this when he visited Senator Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora, minister of State for Health, 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 Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of Science and Technology, 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.”

According Adigwe, 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.

Mamora applauded the NIPRD Director-General for the good work the institute has been doing in recent times, especially in the fight against COVID-19.

The minister, however, said his ministry and its agencies have done extremely well in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

He particularly lauded 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.

During a similar visit to 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 pharmaceutical industry.

Onu, however, urged Nigerian scientists to emulate their counterparts in China and Singapore, who, 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.