By Francis Ogwo
The Federal Ministry of Health has commenced the screening of 19 local firms in the production of herbal drugs that can possibly treat or cure COVID-19.
According to sources, the firms had claimed treatment to outright cure for COVD-19
The firms had met with the leadership of the Ministry and the Department of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and have been asked to submit their samples to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), with three to be picked and pushed for funding.
The Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, had on Monday confirmed in a meeting with relevant stakeholders including NAFDAC, the National Institute for Medical Research, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and other relevant stakeholders, that the Ministry had requested that manufacturers of herbs relate with the government on their challenges.
Most of them, according to reports, complained of funding as well as patent theft.
The Minister also expressed worries of identification of patients for trial.
In his words, “We met with about 19 of them to know what remedies they have in place and to know how we can put them through the processes from listing the medicine to clinical trial and then we wanted to know the challenges they were having.
“They said those challenges essentially were funding and they needed assurances that their intellectual property would be protected and their product or remedy would not be stolen or repackaged by someone else.
“The other challenge is how to go about the clinical trial. Part of that is how they source for patients because they will need patients who are volunteers.
“So, we are now in the process of screening the 19 of them and we will shortlist some of them. About three will be shortlisted for further assessment and we will recommend support for them in order to fast-track the process of determining their efficacy.”
Mamora also said discussions were still on for the cure of COVID-19, as NAFDAC would test the herbal solutions to see if they are safe for human consumption.
Experts are of the view that the present status of the global health sector is an opportunity to develop local manufacturing capacity and an objective look into the activities of research institutes, with Nigeria as a hub for research in Africa.
