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Judge Jack B. Schmetterer-Court Calendar:
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
This[72] XECHEM INC 08BK30512, OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF UNSECURED CREDITORS V. SWIFT ET AL AP
Status Hearing Adversary case 10-00065. (02 (Other (e.g. other actions that would have been brought in state court if unrelated to bankruptcy))): Complaint by Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors against Robert Swift, Cosmid Corp. LLC. Fee Amount $250.Status hearing
This[73] XECHEM INC 08BK30512, OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF UNSECURED CREDITORS V. SWIFT ET AL AP
Status Hearing Hearing Continued . Status hearing
This[222] Orig[67] XECHEM INTERNATIONAL, INC. CH. 11
Notice of Hearing and Objection to Claim(s) 57 Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.
This[223] Orig[66] XECHEM INTERNATIONAL, INC. CH. 11
Notice of Hearing and Objection to Claim(s) 41 Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.
This[224] Orig[72] XECHEM INTERNATIONAL, INC. CH. 11
Notice of Hearing and Objection to Claim(s) 41 Filed by Douglas S Draper on behalf of XECHEM International, Inc..
This[225] Orig[68] XECHEM INTERNATIONAL, INC. CH. 11
Notice of Hearing and Objection to Claim(s) 57 Filed by Douglas S Draper on behalf of XECHEM International, Inc..
This[323] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Status Hearing Hearing Continued . Status hearing
This[324] Orig[278] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Motion : Uncontested Motion to Vacate (related documents [273] Order Scheduling) Filed by Sara E Lorber on behalf of Ramesh Pandey.
This[74] Orig[64] XECHEM INC
OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF UNSECURED CREDITORS V. SWIFT ET AL AP
Status Hearing Notice of Motion and Emergency Motion to Withdraw as Attorney Filed by Kenneth A. Henry on behalf of Cosmid Corp. LLC, Robert Swift.
This[75] Orig[70] XECHEM INC 08BK30512, OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF UNSECURED CREDITORS V. SWIFT ET AL AP
Motion : Motion to Set Hearing Ruling on Motion to Withdraw. Filed by Kenneth A. Henry on behalf of Kenneth A. Henry.
What should I search for?
email: karl.hable@gmx.at
Maybe it's AesRx with Aes-103 (our old 5-HMF).
http://www.aesrx.com/index.html
http://www.adventrx.com/
SNWT want to buyback shares or what does this mean?
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_(A_to_Z)/Stocks_S/threadview?m=tm&bn=36665&tid=1734&mid=1734&tof=1&frt=2
and Gambian President announces 'cure' for sickle cell, stroke
Dakar, Senegal - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh says he has found a 'cure' for sickle cell anemia, stroke and a host of other diseases, PANA reported from here Wednesday. According to sources in Banjul, the Gambian capital, Jammeh made the announcement while celebrating the fourth anniversary of what he and his supporters called a medical 'breakthrough'.
The President of the West African nation had, in 2007, announced finding the cure for HIV/AIDS, infertility and about 99 other diseases using herbal concoctions.
Announcing his latest discovery, the Gambian leader said out of 11 patients suffering from sickle cell, nine were cured of the disease after one month, while the remaining two took longer to be healed.
Jammeh also said he had treated some eight patients suffering from stroke, and that they were now going about their normal businesses.
From time to time, the Gambian President retreats to his native village of Kanilai, located some 120 kilometres South-east of Banjul, where he runs a traditional medicine clinic.
Critics have continued to challenge the effectiveness of such treatment, with some calling for scientific proof of the efficacy of his concoctions.
Pana 20/01/2011
http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/gambian-president-announces-%27cure%27-for-sickle-cell,-stroke-2011012068108.html
Something to defrosting the xkem crew:
Happy new year to all in this world!!
...and in Austria too :)
and I wish all the best all xkem'er!
!!HAPPY NEW YEAR MONTY!!
Interesting article about african medical science:
Strengthen scientific ties with Africa — researchers
Researchers are urging the South African government to strengthen scientific ties with other African countries to combat diseases.
TAMAR KAHN
2010/12/14
CAPE TOWN — SA could benefit from strengthening its scientific links with other African countries, where many good ideas for tackling diseases languish in the laboratory due to lack of support for commercialisation, say researchers from Canada’s McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health.
SA has had relative success in turning local discoveries into tools for diagnosing and treating disease when compared with other African countries.
"It could be a strategic play, as it could foster ideas which would solve common problems," said the centre’s director, Prof Peter Singer. "Those ideas will ultimately yield commercial value too.
"SA distributes lots of finished products, such as generic drugs, to other African countries, but on the research and development side there are few big links."
Prof Singer and his colleague, Ken Simiyu, this week published a review in UK-based BioMed Central, along with a paper in Science, describing what helps and hinders African countries’ efforts to turn ideas for tackling health problems into commercial reality.
They identified dozens of innovations, including a cheap portable medical waste incinerator developed at Uganda’s Makerere University. It uses the waste as its only fuel and could be used in rural areas where there are no safe waste disposal sites.
Researchers at Kenya’s International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology have patented human odours that repel mosquitoes; scientists from Ghana’s Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicines are developing an anti-malaria medicine from a local plant; and Nigeria’s National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development has identified a plant-based drug for sickle-cell anaemia. But all are faced with barriers to commercialisation.
The biggest problem facing African countries is that while there is money for basic research, there is no funding to take the work further, according to the researchers. "One of our most shocking findings is that there is barely a cent for venture capital in Africa (for life sciences research and development) except in SA," Prof Singer said.
SA stands out among other African countries because it has the only life sciences venture capital fund on the continent, Bioventures. The fund is modest by global standards, a mere 12m, and is fully invested. It has supported eight firms since 2002 .
Dr Carl Montague , the Technology Innovation Agency’s GM for health, said SA had such limited funds available it was unlikely to invest directly in products being developed in other countries. " First we need to develop the mechanisms for getting products from the bench to market, and then we can think about assisting the rest of the continent.
"To get a drug to market is hugely expensive — the average cost is 800m — and we don’t have those funds. We need to partner with other organisations."
Prof Singer said investors had to be prepared to fund ventures long term, as commercialising biotechnology innovations could take decades. "There is a real opportunity for ‘patent capital’ to help the development of these technologies," he said, " a long- term market opportunity".
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=129391
NIPRISAN IN THE NEWS
The road to commercialization in Africa:
Lessons from developing the sickle-cell drug Niprisan
One of the few low-toxicity drugs available anywhere to treat sickle-cell anemia -- a debilitating chronic blood disorder -- is derived from medicinal plants in Nigeria. Authors Kumar Perampaladas, Hassan Masum, Andrew Kapoor, Ronak Shah, Abdallah S. Daar and Peter A. Singer looked at barriers faced by Nigeria's National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) while bringing this important product to market. They also chronicle many significant achievements in this drug's development process, even though it ultimately failed.
Nigeria alone has more than 4 million sickle-cell anemia patients, and every year an estimated 150,000 children are born with the condition, which also afflicts many North Americans and Europeans of African descent.
NIPRD developed the herbal medicine Niprisan from a combination of certain seeds, stems, fruit and leaves. Formal agreements entitled the traditional practitioners whose knowledge was used in the development program to product sale royalties.
The drug developers won regulatory approval in Nigeria, partnered with US-based firm XeChem, demonstrated clinical efficacy and safety, and were awarded valuable "orphan" drug status by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Niprisan failed to achieve mainstream success, however, due to a number of problems, such as insufficient manufacturing capacity, quality control issues, pricing and distribution, and lack of financing. Today, NIPRD is considering options for another commercial partner to take the drug forward.
The paper cites five key lessons learned for policy-makers and entrepreneurs:
* Make benefit-sharing agreements with traditional medical healers whose knowledge is used.
* Seek partners to fill gaps in knowledge and technical expertise.
* Subsidize clinically-proven new drugs derived from traditional medicines, where the disease is endemic to a region and good alternative treatments are lacking.
* Institute standardization and quality control measures in drug manufacturing, especially for traditional medicines, the potency and effectiveness of which can be influenced by the raw materials involved (i.e. plant material quality, age, time of harvest, location, soil quality, preparation, handling, etc.).
* Train skilled entrepreneurial leaders to manage partnerships, recruit talented professionals, approach government for funding, and handle the missteps and breakthroughs that go along with early stage drug development.
Venture funding for science-based African health innovation
Authors Hassan Masum, Justin Chakma, Ken Simiyu, Wesley Ronoh, Abdallah S Daar and Peter A. Singer describe case studies of five health venture funds based in the developing world, and suggest lessons.
The five funds included publicly-owned organizations, corporations, social enterprises, and subsidiaries of foreign venture firms. Three funds aimed primarily for financial returns, one for social and health returns, and one had mixed aims. (One of the funds, Bioventures, is discussed above.)
Lessons learned include
* The importance of measuring and supporting both social and financial returns;
* The need to engage both upstream capital such as government funding and downstream capital from the private sector; and
* The existence of many challenges including difficulty of raising capital, low human resource capacity, regulatory barriers, and risky business environments.
The authors suggest that those looking to design venture funding for African science-based health innovation with significant impact should structure funds for long-term sustainability and attract for-profit private sector funds.
The proposed venture approach can complement existing initiatives to encourage local scientific and economic development while tapping new funding sources.
The authors conclude that there is a case for venture funding as one support mechanism for science-based African health innovation, with opportunities for risk-tolerant investors to make financial as well as social returns.
http://www.chem.info/News/Feeds/2010/12/topics-material-handling-studies-detail-triumphs-troubles-of-african-innov/
African health research has solutions but no support
AFP - African health laboratories are bubbling with innovation to combat the continent's diseases but these home-grown solutions are stagnating due to a lack of support, studies published Sunday said.
The studies published by the Science journal and BioMed Central identified 25 "stagnant technologies" that never got off the drawing board.
"Driven largely by entrepreneurs, innovative and affordable technologies to improve health in Africa are under development throughout the continent," said Ken Simiyu, who co-authored the study for Canada's McLaughlin-Rotman Center for Global Health (MRC).
"Clearly, many Africans have the needed talent and know-how," he told AFP.
After touring laboratories in sub-Saharan Africa, the Kenyan scientist discovered a plethora of dormant innovations:
-- A low-cost dipstick technology developed in Ghana for quick village diagnosis of schistosoma, a parasitic disease that affects more than 50 percent of people in some areas of Africa.
-- An easy-to-use and inexpensive portable medical-waste incinerator developed in Uganda that could solve the problem of hospital waste management in rural areas, especially during mass immunisation programmes.
-- A herbal, anti-malarial medicine called Nibima developed in Ghana.
There are many other such African inventions that have not hit the market.
"It is not entirely financial. It is a more general innovation problem, which involves politics and finance," Simiyu said.
African countries dedicate an average of 0.2 to 0.3 percent of GDP to research and development, 10 times less than developed countries.
But while the scientists behind those innovations have not always received adequate funding, they have also lacked the required contacts and skills to move their products to the stages of licensing, manufacturing and marketing.
The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), for example, built a facility to produce AIDS and hepatitis B diagnostic kits but the factory has remained idle due to a regulatory change from the government, its main purchaser.
One of the study's papers relates how the commercialisation of a drug developed by Nigeria's National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development to treat sickle-cell anaemia never got off the ground.
The product is one of the few low-toxicity drugs to treat the disease, a chronic blood disorder that affects four million people in Nigeria alone and afflicts many people of African descent in the West.
However, the treatment, called Niprisan, never achieved success due to a raft of problems "such as insufficient manufacturing capacity, quality control issues, pricing and distribution, and lack of financing," the study said.
The study did identify some success stories, such as the Tanzanian company A to Z Textiles, which managed to overcome regulatory and procurement hurdles to become one of the world's largest producers of insecticide-treated bed nets.
In a preface to the work, Harvard professor Calestous Juma noted that concern over access to medecines had dominated the health policy debate for years, wrongly assuming that Africa would continue to rely on imports.
"This collection of original papers provides a different prognosis. They reveal an emergent 'health innovation system' in Africa," he said.
McLaughlin-Rotman Center director Peter Singer stressed that African know-how -- 16 of the 25 innovations studied involved traditional plant products -- needed to be urgently supported.
"Required are creative institutions and coherent policies that reduce risk, build on local strengths, and promote the effective use of local health research," he said.
"Many people will die if we wait for scientists from elsewhere to invent and market the health products Africa needs," Singer said.
http://www.france24.com/en/20101212-african-health-research-has-solutions-but-no-support
Lack of support keeps African discoveries languishing in labs
Institutional frameworks must be improved to save stagnant technologies
Linda Nordling
A laboratory technician in Amuria, Uganda examines a patient's blood for signs of malaria.More funding for neglected disease research in Africa has yet to lead to more cures.Jake Lyell / Alamy
Africa is struggling to turn local discoveries into drugs and other health-care inventions, according to a slew of papers published today on open-access publisher BioMed Central1,2,3.
The papers identify 25 'stagnant technologies' languishing in African health-research institutions. These include a portable medical-waste incinerator, a dipstick test for the parasitic disease schistosomiasis and several drug candidates extracted from African plants1.
A host of factors thwart the take-up of these technologies, the papers' authors say. Scientists in Africa have no incentive to commercialize results, and there is scant institutional support for knowledge transfer. In addition, venture capital is scarce, existing regulatory frameworks inhibit innovation and intellectual property protection remains weak.
"What we found in Africa is that there is funding for basic research, but there is nobody taking these findings forward," says Ken Simiyu, a technology commercialization researcher at the University of Toronto, Canada, and co-author of the stagnant-technologies paper.
Stalled drugs
The papers were produced by the McLaughlin-Rotman Center for Global Health (MRC) in Toronto and draw on the experiences of authorities, researchers and entrepreneurs in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
One paper2 mentions Nicosan, a drug candidate for sickle-cell anaemia that was developed at Nigeria's National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development in Abuja. The institute is dogged by funding problems (see 'Funding woes afflict African herbal therapy institute')
Other stalled drug candidates include a Ghanaian herbal anti-malarial therapy called Nibima, extracted from the local shrub Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, and Sunguprot, an extract from the Tylosema fassoglensis plant. Sungoprot's Kenyan developers say that it can help to manage HIV symptoms.
However, the papers also identify products that have succeeded against tough odds. Tanzania's A to Z Textiles company based in Arusha, Tanzania has become one of the world's largest producers of insecticide-treated nets to prevent malaria3. The company overcame local barriers of procurement and regulatory issues. Donor funding played a critical role, showing that aid has a role to play in fuelling African innovation, the researchers say.
"These studies demonstrate that, with the right partners and incentives along with support from governments at home and abroad, Africans have the scientific creativity and entrepreneurial talent to improve local health and prosper at the same time," said MRC director Peter Singer in a statement.
Funding boost
Research and development spending for 'neglected diseases' including HIV, malaria and tuberculosis grew to more than US$2.5 billion in 2007 (see graph), according to a 2009 report by The George Institute for International Health, a not-for-profit medical-research body with operations in Australia, China and India. Most of the funding comes from philanthropic funders and the governments of developed countries (see pie chart).
The lion's share of the money ends up in developed countries, but African researchers have also benefited from the increase. In Uganda, for instance, health-research spending more than tripled from US$18 million in 2005–06 to US$56m in 2008–09, according a status report published in June this year by the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology.
To capitalize on this investment, African governments, international donors and the private sector need to join forces, say the MRC authors. They propose the creation of regional or national venture-capital funds and the setting up of national life-sciences innovation centres to bring science, business and capital under one roof. Rwanda already has such a centre, and Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya are in the process of establishing them.
Government support will be crucial, says Simiyu. "Because of the inherent risk in health innovation, especially in Africa, it is unlikely that the private sector would get involved initially," he says.
Persistent problem
Marcel Tanner, director of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, agrees that home-grown African discoveries can't be validated without support. But one of the biggest challenges — that of up-scaling technologies into production and universal use — requires more thought than it is given in the MRC papers, he says.
"The science of going to scale is not sufficiently covered. That's a scientific issue, not just a marketing issue. You need to look at public acceptance of new technologies and manufacturing capacity," says Tanner.
African ministers, health researchers and pharmaceutical-industry representatives met in Pretoria, South Africa, in February this year to discuss how to support home-grown drug development. But progress has been slow on a planned US$600-million endowment fund to support an African Network for Drugs and Diagnostic Innovations, proposed by African scientists in 2008. Some African governments have pledged money to the fund, but none have paid up.
Africa's innovation problems will persist, warns Umar Bindir, director general of Nigeria's National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion. The continent's poor education standards, lack of transparency at all institutional levels and a lack of respect for regulations will keep bogging down innovative products, he says. "We are going to keep seeing this for quite some time, in my opinion," he says.
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101212/full/news.2010.666.html
Thanks Monty, for all!!
You are the man with the iron will.
Article Comment by LaMonte Forthun
On Wed Dec, 08 2010 06:28
With all due respect to Prof. Gamaniel, I'd like to make two points relating to comments made in the last paragraph of this article. 1). It was the management of Xechem International, not the shareholders, which took NIPRD to court over the revocation of the license; and 2). It was the attorney of the US shareholder's (of Xechem International) that was hired by NIPRD and whom eventually got the lawsuit dismissed. The shareholders have supported efforts to take over Xechem Nigeria to re-establish the production for over 17 months now (since the creditors of Xechem Nigeria, took Xechem Nigeria into Receivership) and have and will continue to be fully supportive of NICOSAN, Prof. Gamaniel and the entire staff at NIPRD. In Aug. of 2009 a proposal sponsored by the US shareholders was submitted to the creditors of Xechem Nigeria (at their request) outlining a new management team, financial capabilities and an operational plan. It was one of four such proposals that were requested by the cre
http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=25112
Great News! Thanks for sharing.
I hope we will get to hear good news about xkem too.
Happy Holidays clrmng!
The real XKEMer are only here for fun. :D
Who bought 260k tvls shares?
Remember: On December 31, 2008, an involuntary petition for liquidation under Chapter 7 was filed against Travelstar, Inc. in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale.
So tvls is worthless!
Brazil commits $ 13.66 million for Sickle Cell Centre in Ghana
November 21, 2010
Accra, Nov. 21, GNA - Brazil has committed a grant of $ 13.66 million to Ghana, for the construction of a Blood and Sickle Cell Centre in Kumasi to facilitate the fight against the disease.
The project would include a blood transfusion centre and out-patient clinic for sickle cell and other blood diseases.
To this effect an eight-member delegation of government officials and technical experts from Brazil are in Ghana to witness a groundbreaking ceremony for the project in Kumasi on Thursday, November 25.
A statement from the Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana (SCFG) in Accra at the weekend, said the Brazil-Ghana Technical Co-operation Agreement in Sickle Cell Disease was signed on October 7, 2009 at the Closing Ceremony of the 5th Brazilian International Symposium on Sickle Cell Disease held in Belo Horizonte.
Under the Agreement, Brazil would assist Ghana to expand the national newborn screening programme, by upgrading the screening laboratory, train the technical personnel, develop the educational and training programmes in the sickle cell disease and provide supplies for the initial expansion of the national screening programme.
Professor Ohene-Frempong, President of the SCFG was named as Project Co-ordinator and Mr Edward J. N. Tettey, Acting Vice President for Finance and Administration of the foundation was listed as the Project Administrator in Ghana, under the Agreement.
Ghana hosted the first Global Congress on Sickle Cell in Accra from July 20 to July 23, which was co-organised by the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Centre at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Sickle Cell Disease International Organisation, the Global Sickle Cell Disease Network and SCFG.
Screening of newborns for sickle cell makes it possible to diagnose the disease early, before symptoms and complications develop.
This allows health workers to educate parents about the special needs of the children and to begin preventive treatment before they develop the complications of the disease.
Many of these complications, especially bacteria and malaria infections can kill young children before parents and doctors even suspect that the victims have the disease.
Before the screening and early diagnosis and treatment, more than 90 per cent of babies born with sickle cell disease in Africa died at the age of five.
Many countries including the US, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Brazil, Cuba, England, France, Belgium, Bahrain, test either all babies or a selected group of newborns at high risk for sickle cell disease.
In Africa, the largest and most advanced of the pilot projects to screen newborns was started at Kumasi-Tikrom, in 1993.
It was initiated from 1993 to 2008 through grants awarded by the National Institute of Health to Professor Kwaku Ohene-Frempong (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA) and colleagues in Ghana, led by Professor Francis K. Nkrumah (Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research).
The screening project has continued under the support of the Ministry of Health, National Health Insurance Authority, Ghana Health Service, Noguchi, and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, under the co-ordination of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana.
The national scale-up of newborn screening for sickle cell disease would entail expansion of the newborn screening laboratory at Noguchi with additional equipment and supplies, the training of additional technical personnel, and enhancement of the Information Technology and Communications systems to run the programme.
Every year some 13,000 babies are born with sickle cell disease in Ghana. Many of them die without the diagnose or treatment of the disease.
By the end of June 2010, the Kumasi-Tikrom pilot newborn screening programme had screened 308,632 babies, found 5,381 to have the disease and enrolled 3,549 of them in the Sickle Cell Clinic established at KATH.
The SCFG was established as a non-profit, non-governmental organisation and membership is opened to individuals and professional bodies.
Sickle cell disease is a major public health problem in Ghana and Africa.
In Africa, more than 400,000 babies are born with the inherited disease each year.
It is usually passed on to children by parents who are AS or AC, healthy carriers of genes.
About 25 per cent of Ghanaians carry genes that can lead to sickle cell. The disease has many features and complications that include anaemia, poor growth, easy tiredness, and jaundice (yellow eyes).
http://www.ghananewsagency.org/s_health/r_22751/
Stanbic IBTC commissions N10m Sickle Cell Centre
Monday, 22 November 2010 00:00 Nigerian Compass
The Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria has commissioned a state-of-the-art centre which was sponsored by Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, a member of the Standard Bank Group. The commissioning was done at the National Sickle Cell Centre in Lagos.
Stanbic IBTC Bank donated N10 million towards establishing the library in line with the bank’s Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives which focus on education, health and educational empowerment.
Known as the Stanbic IBTC Library, the facility offers a wide range of services targeted at researchers, post-graduate students, health professionals and members of the public to help them in thoroughly addressing the problems associated with sickle cell disorder in Nigeria and the entire African continent.
In his welcome address, Professor Olu Akinyanju, Chairman, Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, expressed appreciation to Stanbic IBTC over what he described as a historic event held to address problems associated with the commonest hereditary disorder in the world.
“I therefore say congratulations to Stanbic IBTC for their high sense of corporate responsibility in sponsoring the development of the library. I also, on behalf of all board members of the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria and all Nigerians say a big thank you to Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc for their donation. Nigerians will never forget you,” Akinyanju stated. “The National Sickle Cell Centre will promote and conduct research into all aspects of sickle cell disorder. It will train essential manpower, liaise with national and international institutions in the development and application of strategies aimed at ameliorating the condition. It will facilitate policy and programme development as well as participate in coordinating and evaluating national control programmes,” he added.
http://www.compassnewspaper.com/NG/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70105:stanbic-ibtc-commissions-n10m-sickle-cell-centre-&catid=113:money-market&Itemid=711
Same story at allafrica.com
Nigerian Traditional Medicine Institute At a Standstill
18 November 2010
A funding shortfall has caused research to cease at a Nigerian institute that develops drug candidates from traditional herbal remedies.
The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), based in Abuja, has already developed a potential therapy for sickle-cell disease and has encouraging results for compounds to treat malaria and tuberculosis.
But a key grant from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has run out and the Nigerian Ministry of Health has not covered the funding gap. As a result, research on drugs for all three diseases has largely ground to a halt.
"There are lots of things we don't do because we have no money," said Karniyus Gamaniel, NIPRD's director-general.
The funding gap will prevent further development of Nicosan (niprisan), the institute's potential treatment for sickle-cell anaemia.
Getting good phase III trial data is the "crucial next step" for developing the drug, said Marie Stuart, a professor of paediatrics and haematology at Thomas Jefferson University, United States.
But financial constraints have hindered NIPRD from doing further clinical trials, Gramaniel said.
Umar Bindir, director-general of Nigeria's National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, said ministries cannot fund any institute in excess of a yearly cap, fixed by the ministry of finance, so the chances of any further funding are slim.
"It doesn't matter what you have as an institution and how important you are, the ceiling doesn't change and it's not good for R&D," said Bindir. "NIPRD has to intensify its own efforts by doing contract research for industry and submitting proposals to institutions such as the African Union and the European Union."
http://allafrica.com/stories/201011190002.html
I think I know what you mean ;)
Funding woes afflict African herbal therapy institute
Promising therapies in limbo after donor money runs out.
Deborah-Fay Ndhlovu
Research has ground to a halt at a Nigerian institute that develops traditional herbal remedies into drug candidates, after it failed to secure the funding it expected this year. Scientists are now urging the Nigerian government to provide the financial support needed to save their research programmes.
The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), based in Abuja, has already developed a potential therapy for sickle-cell disease and has encouraging results for compounds to treat malaria and tuberculosis.
But a key grant from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has run out and Nigeria's Ministry of Health has failed to deliver an expected increase to its contribution. As a result, research on all three drugs has largely come to a standstill.
The 49 million naira (US$325,000) the NIPRD received this year from the health ministry is not enough to cover the institute's annual running costs of 265 million naira, says Karniyus Gamaniel, director general of the NIPRD.
The institute also received 70 million naira from the ministry in 2010 for capital projects, but this falls short of the more than US$2 million needed to buy equipment and for other infrastructure projects.
"There are lots of things we don't do because we have no money," Gamaniel told Nature. For instance, the institute needs 50 million naira in addition to its running costs to mount an 800-patient phase III clinical trial on its anti-malaria drug.
In addition, one of the institute's flagship laboratories, set up in 2005 with a grant of US$25 million from NIAID, is lying idle. NIPRD needs about US$180,000 a year to cover maintenance costs and ensure a constant supply of electricity, Gamaniel says.
Joseph Okogun, a consultant phytochemist for NIPRD, says that without funding for this lab they cannot carry out essential analyses of the structures of chemical compounds in their tuberculosis drug candidate, which is a mix of herbal extracts that have been shown to slow the growth of the tuberculosis bacterium.
"If funded, maybe in six to ten years time we might get something developed into a drug," says Okogun.
Troubled history
Scientists contacted by Nature have been particularly dismayed by the effects of the funding problems on efforts to test Nicosan (niprisan), the institute's potential treatment for sickle-cell anaemia — a genetic disease affecting about 4 million people in Nigeria's population of 150 million.
Patients with the disease have 'sickle'-shaped red blood cells that can clump together to block blood vessels, causing strokes or pain. Based on West African plant extracts, Nicosan appeared to slow the clumping of blood cells in lab tests and early trials of the drug in patients suggested that it relieved some of the painful symptoms of the disease.
Nicosan was being produced in the country by the Nigerian subsidiary of US chemical company Xechem International. But last year, the company closed its factory and despite promises by the Nigerian government that it would restart production, the drug is currently unavailable.
Although the results of phase III clinical trials with Nicosan, funded by NIPRD, have not been published, Gamaniel admits they were "inconclusive". But financial constraints have hindered NIPRD from doing more phase III trials of the drug, he says.
Marie Stuart, a professor of paediatrics and haematology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says that since the sickle-cell drug hydroxyurea was marketed nearly two decades ago, the list of drugs able to treat the symptoms of the disease has been "abysmally short to nonexistent".
"Nicosan is an oral agent with what appears to be minimal toxicity," Stuart says. Getting good phase III trial data is the "crucial next step", she adds.
Gamaniel says they are negotiating for additional funding from the Nigerian health ministry.
But Umar Bindir, the director general of Nigeria's National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, believes that their chances of success are slim.
Ministries cannot fund any institute in excess of a yearly cap, fixed by the ministry of finance, he explains.
"It doesn't matter what you have as an institution and how important you are, the ceiling doesn't change and it's not good for R&D," says Bindir, who urges NIPRD to look for other sources of funding. "NIPRD has to intensify its own efforts by doing contract research for industry and submitting proposals to institutions such as the African Union and the European Union."
Gamaniel says they plan to do exactly that — the institute is drafting a proposal for funding which will be submitted to the World Bank and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. "I am very optimistic," Gamaniel says, adding that much of the funding will be used to upgrade the institute's laboratories so that they can push forward work on their drug candidates. "I believe that it is a matter of communicating the facts of this intention to the bank."
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101118/full/news.2010.602.html
Sangart, Inc. Receives U.S. Orphan Drug Designation for use of MP4CO in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Sangart, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing life-saving medicines specifically designed to enhance the perfusion and oxygenation of ischemic (oxygen deprived) tissues through targeted oxygen and other gas delivery, today announced that its investigational biopharmaceutical product, MP4CO, has been awarded orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in treating acute painful sickling crises in patients with sickle cell disease.
Orphan drug designation is awarded to drugs and biologics which are being developed for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases/disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the US. This designation provides companies with financial incentives that can help support development, as well as market exclusivity if the compound is ultimately approved for sale by the FDA. As with all biopharmaceutical products, MP4CO will only receive FDA marketing approval if it is first shown to be safe and effective in human clinical trials, which have yet to be performed.
MP4CO is designed to deliver therapeutic levels of carbon monoxide (CO) to patients suffering from a sickle cell crisis. CO stabilizes hemoglobin S, an abnormal type of hemoglobin, and prevents sickling of red blood cells. The addition of MP4CO to existing treatment protocols may alleviate pain associated with a sickle cell crisis and potentially reduce the duration of a crisis. Clinically, this could mean preventing hospitalization or shorter hospital stays, reducing the need for addictive narcotic analgesics, and an improved quality of life for patients with sickle cell disease.
"This orphan drug designation is another significant milestone in the development of the MP4CO product," said Brian O'Callaghan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sangart. "We look forward to working closely with the FDA on our clinical program and advancing this new treatment option into clinical studies."
Sickle cell disease is an inherited hemoglobin disorder that affects red blood cell circulation in millions of people around the world. People with sickle cell disease have red blood cells that contain mostly hemoglobin S, an abnormal type of hemoglobin. Sometimes these red blood cells become crescent or sickle-shaped and have difficulty passing through small blood vessels. This is known as a "sickle crisis". When sickle-shaped cells block small blood vessels, less blood circulates through the body, causing damage to tissues that do not receive a normal blood flow. There are currently no approved medications to treat sickle cell crises, and only symptomatic relief is available.
About MP4
Sangart's product platform is based on the MP4 molecule, an investigational biopharmaceutical product designed to enhance the perfusion of oxygen-deprived (ischemic) tissues and provide targeted oxygen delivery in the capillaries. Using a novel pegylation approach, Sangart produces the MP4 molecule designed at the optimal oxygen affinity, diffusion potential and molecular size to perfuse capillaries and target oxygen delivery to tissues specifically at risk of ischemia.
About Sangart
Sangart is a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing life-saving medicines specifically designed to enhance the perfusion and oxygenation of ischemic (oxygen deprived) tissues through targeted oxygen delivery. Based on more than a decade of research, Sangart has refined the pegylation of human hemoglobin to create a molecule, MP4, with the ability to carry oxygen through the circulatory system to prevent and treat ischemia.
To learn more about Sangart, please visit the company's website at www.sangart.com.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sangart-inc-receives-us-orphan-drug-designation-for-use-of-mp4co-in-patients-with-sickle-cell-disease-108184689.html
Good morning monty
Is it possible to get AD-1 on board if our hero (you) is successful?
Best regards
charly
thanks monty
Maybe the reason is a settlement out of court?
Ask @0,0017.....why?
This month is Swift month.
;)
http://www.ilnb.uscourts.gov/Judge/Schmetterer/Court_Calendar.cfm
Nigeria at 50: Milestones in healthcare
Health
Sep 28, 2010
By Sola Ogundipe, Chioma Obinna, Victoria Ojeme & Rosemary Duru
First description of Lassa fever – as an acute viral haemorrhagic fever was in 1969 in the town of Lassa, in Borno State.
• Eradication of smallpox in 1970 in line with the rest of the world.
• Establishment of health policy with Federal charater by Nigerian Constitution which prescribes responsibility for three tiers of Government on Health Care services.
• Marked improvement in diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable disorders (NCDs)
• Development of a mechanism of drug production, procurement and distribution and remarkable improvement in regulation of food, drugs and other regulated products through the National Agency for Food & Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) set up by Decree No. 15 of 1993)
• Former Minister of Health Prof. Olikoye Ransome Kuti enabled official acceptance of Policy document on Primary Health Care by FG in 1988
• Establishment of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) in 1992 to support the Primary Healthcare level of care.
• Federal Government is responsible for Tertiary Health Institutions such as Federal Medical Centres and University Teaching Hospitals which serve as referrals.
• Realisation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). This is a programme that enables civil servants to access Healthcare services in easily through identified Health Care Providers
• Setting up of NIPRID, NIMR, FIRRO and other research centres and institutes that are concentrating on better ways of managing diseases and promoting healthcare
• Development of Niprisan for management of sickle cell disease
• Pioneering discovery of anti-snake venom from local sources
• Establishment of a National Tertiary Healthcare Commission and national Startegic Health Development Plan
• Federal government supported initiative to State governments in providing free antenatal care free treatment to children less than five years through the NHIS.
• Introduction of Midwife Service Scheme in pursuit of attainment of owards achieving health related Millennium Development Goals. Through the scheme Federal Government employs midwives, trains them and posts them to the rural areas to assist in handling pregnant women and providing skilled care to women in labour.
• Initiation of a national malaria control programme which facilitates purchase and distribution of insecticide treated nets, provides ACT for treatment
• Engagement of traditional rulers to successfully aid fight against polio, and facilitate reduction of polio cases by over 99 percent interruption of the wild polio virus
• Widespread acknowledgement of this landmark achievement.
• Notable pesonalities including Mr Bill Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Dr. Bruce Alywald of the WHO Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) and WHO Regional Director, Dr. Margaret Chan.
• Modernisation and upgrading of nine Federal Tertiary Health institutions through VAMED Project with state-of- the–art facilities
• Recorded zero case of guinea worm for the last 20months – a feat which puts the nation on the path of certification as a guineaworm free nation by WHO if the zero case status is sustained for 36 months
• Increased attention to cancer control. through partnering with Nollywood to create awareness and offer of free cancer screening to women.
Also modern equipments are available at our Tertiary Health facilities to treat cancer patient
• Integration of maternal and and newborn child health strategy (IMNCH)
• Establishment of a National Blood Transfusion Service
• Setting up of an effective HIV & AIDS Control Agency
We are below the UN standard, says Dr. Chukwunweike Ojeh
Talking about how we have fared, I would not know how to start. In terms of what we have achieved and using the United Nations standard, we are very much below par. What the health budget is in Nigeria is nothing to right home about. When the UN said every nation should allocate 15 percent of its annual budget to health, Nigeria is allocating 5 percent. How can we expect much with one third of the expected budget and the issue of brain drain, every now and then, strike for the well fare of those working in the health sector.
We’ve not done badly, but…, says Dr. Olurotimi Akanbi Olojede,National President-elect, Nigeria Dental Association (NDA)
• Success in halting the spread of the wild polio virus through immunisation is one of the significant milestones in Nigeria’s health history since independence.
The health sector has done so well even though it could be better and for that, I want to appeal to all authorities concern to ensure that the maximise their resources no matter how little to the barest minium, that would indeed, increase and elevate and make our health sector to be what it ought to be.
Rome was not built in a day. I wouldn’t expect to get all the advancements and all that we need to get there in a day. But if each government had done its bit, by now we should be far ahead by now.
We need to sit up and put things in the right perspective, so that the dividends of democracy would be felt among the Nigerian public.
Nigeria has not fared well, says TEMIYE
*Dr. Edamisan Temiye, Chairman Nigerian Medical Association, Lagos State branch
Nigeria has not fared very well as regards the healthcare delivery system in the country in the past 50 years. At independence, there was a lot of hope for as regards healthcare delivery. We started having teaching hospitals and at that time, government was voting money for specialist training. Today no money is voted for specialist training again. This is creating problem.
At that time, the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, was one of the best hospitals in the world.Today if you list 2,000 hospitals in the world, you will not find one in Nigeria. We have depreciated terribly. Most doctors trained here are now outside the country.
In terms of healthcare indices, we have moved away from the expected to a far low level. Our mortality rate is between 90-100 per ,1000 births. Today, we still have cholera outbreak in Nigeria. in many countries they only read about tetanus but in Nigeria babies are still suffering from tetanus and dying from it.
Nigeria is today one of the five countries that are still being ravaged by polio. To me, the reason for all these is because we have have government that has never taken healthcare serious, rather they want people to take care of their health themselves. I can tell you government has no health programme. There is no primary healthcare in Nigeria. The system has been completely destroyed. No local government in this country has a health plan and primary healthcare that is the pivot has collapsed.
If a child develops cancer today, that child would most likely die because there is no plan by government to take care of the disorder. How many people can afford N3-5 million to treat cancer in their children? But in many other countries treatment for cancer is free. Children under 18 years get free health treatment. The way forward is political reorientation. People should be made to hold political position with trust.
Kufeji calls for change in medical education
To meet the challenges of advancement in health care delivery globally, President of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, Dr. Leonard Idowu Kufeji has called for a paradigm shift in the country’s medical education, saying as medical education should change as knowledge base changes
Speaking during the 2010 Train- The-Trainers’ workshop last week in Lagos Kufeji said “Ideally, medical education should change as knowledge base changes and as perceived needs of patients, medical practitioners, society and new disease change.”
He said it is time trainers in the various medical schools in Nigeria set an enviable standard for trainees to ensure that Nigerian doctors have very good overall standards of practice to be able to define good clinical care, make explicit expectations about clinical judgement and patent’s rights to be treated even if they post a risk to the doctor amongst others.
Kufeji stated that trainers and trainees should maintain good medical practice and performance, set out conditions for good relationship with patients in the areas of consent, trust and confidentiality.
“We have 37 teaching hospitals and there is obviously no uniformity in the works of these directors/chairmen, residency training. We have evaluated what had been on ground and found the need to review our methods of training. Medical educator have professional and ethical obligation to meet the needs of their learners, patients and society and they should be held accountable for the outcome of their interventions.”
He explained that the workshop which was attended by over 350 medical professionals from all fields was to deliberate on new modern methods of training and examination.
“We want to highlight what we expect from the trainers in the areas of assessing research proposals, assessing the residents amongst others. All these affect the quality of training and the products of the college. We need to examine areas of the college is in marketing its products, responding to inquiries, amongst others.”
Continuing, the president who stressed the need for continuing medical education for fellows and indeed for different levels of doctors in the private and public sector noted that the public need to be confident that award of fellowship indicates that a fellow has completed training to a satisfactory and programmed standard.
The profession has the duty to ensure that each specialities’s portfolio contains unequivocal evidence of this and t develop training structure that supports the doctor in completing his or her training. we should therefore not allow extraneous factors to influence the training programme.”
Stillbirth coverage still low, says NPHCDA
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency has directed all Chief Medical Directors in the States to hand over official ambulances to appropriate channels for hospital usage, even as Director, Primary Health Care System Development, Dr. Mohammed Abdullahi noted during a two weeks training at Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital, Abuja, that stillbirth coverage is low in the country.
Abdullahi said Federal government is determined to continue with positive movement to improve the survival of women and children in order to safeguard the human capital of Nigeria. “We have noticed that still birth is still very low in the country and we need to seriously do something about it, we have also sent some ambulances to some States not just that but we have also hard that most of this ambulances are been use by the chief medical directors in the states.
He saidover 2800 midwives have been deployed to various general primary health care centres in the States and we are also calling on doctors and midwives to join hands in making maternal and mortality rate a success “All hands must be on deck to ensure maternal survival is maximized in our country we are committed to doing that.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/09/nigeria-at-50-milestones-in-healthcare/
Nigeria: Corruption Stalls New Investments - Study
Date Posted: Tuesday 21-Sep-2010
By Ruth Tene Natsa
Abuja - A report obtained by LEADERSHIP has revealed that besides denying the country of growth in socio-economic sectors, corruption equally scares off new investors.
According to the study about 10 percent of all companies paid bribes in the year before the study was conducted and about 20 percent or 450 companies admitted that in their economic sector, the payment of bribes to public officials was either fairly or very frequent. While,almost 200 companies or eight percent of all companies surveyed refrained from making new investments for fear of corruption.
Mrs Dagmar Thomas, Country Representative of United Nations on Drugs and Crime in Nigeria (UNODC), said this in her opening remarks at the Roundtable on Ethical Conduct of Business, with the theme "The role of labour in the fight against corruption" held in Abuja, yesterday.
The Chairperson of Inter agency Task Team (IATT), Proffessor Humphrey Asophu said, " the high rate of corruption in Nigeria has led to the need to develop an international strategy to combat corruption in all spheres of business and government, stressing that inter agencies partnership with both national and international organisations was needed to fight against the scourge.
Lillian Ekeanyanwu, Head of the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti- Corruption Reforms (TUGAR), who represented Asophu further said, the team was in partnership with the United Nations Office On Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Embassy of the Netherlands,the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation ( UNIDO), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) among others.
Comrade Abdulwahed Omar, the President of the NLC in his keynote address reminded the gathering that the fight against corruption had been an ongoing battle by the various institutional and anti corruption agencies constituted to eradicate corruption in the country.
Nigeria Socio Economic growth has been circumvented he said by the canker of corruption as stated by a group of Researchers , which estimated that the amount of money stolen from Nigeria's coffers from independence to 1999 was in excess of US$400 billion of which mathematicians say can form a chain from earth to space , not just once but 75 times
Re-iterating that the NLC has been in the forefront of the fight against corruption, which led to their vigorous protest against Mrs. Patricia Etteh , Former Speaker of the House of Representives over allegations of corruption, and the prosecution of Nigerians fingered in the Siemens and Halliburton scandals and insisting that their major plank with any Government in Nigeria has been their lack of fear to expose without fear or favor any corrupt person or group.
According to him, President Goodluck Jonathan disclosed that contracts awarded in Nigeria cost 30-40%in in excess of similar contracts awarded elsewhere, arguing that corruption was a universal trend, but it is only in Nigeria that contractors collect 100% mobilization fees of hugely inflated contract and yet not a grain of sand would be mobilized to site. And only in Nigeria will the cost of commissioning a project cost the same as executing the project.
Despite the millions of Naira sunk into the National Integrated Power project, Nigeria instead of producing megawatts of electricity is producing megawatts of excuses and even some of those who spearheaded the probe are said to be equally behind some of the scams
He stated that the Nigerian version of corruption has a slant of sheer wickedness, since public officials in other developing countries who supposedly collect on the 10% ensure delivery of service, while Nigeria has no conscience on collecting without delivery. Thereby impoverishing the country and making Nigeria to suffer forgotten disease in the 20th century such as Cholera and tetanus, depriving the average Nigerian of good education, maternal healthcare and deprivations of good roads and portable drinking water.
In the battle against corruption, the NLC advised that the fight cannot be left to the agencies alone, but was the responsibility of every Nigerian, irrespective of socio-economic status and therefore, called on the enthronement of sound democratic principles and elections of credible leaders who can be held accountable.
Original date published: 21 September 2010
http://www.africancrisis.co.za/Article.php?ID=83243&M=W&
African countries urged to embrace biotechnology
September 26, 2010
Abuja, Sept. 26, GNA - Dr Nompumelelo H. Obokoh, Project Manager of African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), has called on African leaders to position themselves to embrace biotechnology in solving food insecurity in Africa.
She said the challenges of science technology and innovation held the key for improved food security and poverty reduction as global trends have indicated preference for commercialized biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) crops.
Dr Obokoh disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in Abuja.
The Project Manager said the United States, China and South Africa have taken full advantage of the system and expressed worry that trends that were fast changing and improving systems elsewhere was rather slow in Africa.
She advocated the mainstreaming of biotechnology into agricultural production, building of capacity for compliance and migrating to commercial high yielding crops.
Dr Obokoh said Nigeria for instance has an annual consumption rate of 2.7 million tons of cowpea and now grapples with a national deficit of about 500,000 tons.
She added that surmounting the constraints of this deficit in view of infertility of land, drought, extreme heat, climate change, disease, pest and parasites were compelling factors towards adopting biotechnological approaches for food sufficiency and not beliefs or traditions.
"Legume pod borer, a major pest was responsible for about 80 percent post harvest losses alone and the scientific approach to finding an antidote was the application of biotechnology," she added.
Professor Karniyus S. Gamaniel, Director-General, Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), called on the media to play a crucial role in educating the masses on research findings in simplest language for easy assimilation.
He said the journey from the laboratory to industry was long and cumbersome and urged the media, as major stakeholders to assist in shortening that distance.
Prof. Gamaniel said NIPRD's priority hinges on strategies imbedded in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the seven-point agenda and National Strategy for Health Development Planning.
He said as an agency responsible for the phytomedicines and pharmaceutical products, it was mandated to utilize research for health and a watchdog for healthcare products.
Prof. Gamaniel said its mandates include HIV research programme, malaria research, sickle cell, diabetes, tuberculosis, cancer researches.
Other roles, he said, were neglected parasites and fungal diseases, E-botanical surveys.
From Maxwell Awumah, a GNA Special Correspondent in Abuja, Nigeria
Advertisements
©2006 Ghana News Agency. All rights reserved.
http://www.ghananewsagency.org/s_science/r_20814/
NIGERIA, SICKLE CELL, NICOSAN & CORRUPTION
Monday, June 28, 2010
On the most recent World Sickle Cell day, Nigeria hosted a ceremony to commemorate the day. At an event, it was announced that Nigeria has the highest rate of sickle cell sufferers in the entire world. The specifics of this statistic are even more alarming. In fact, of the 200,000 babies born with the disease on the African continent, 150,000 of them are Nigerian. Furthermore, 100,000 Nigerian children are lost to the disease annually and 8% of the nation's child mortality deaths stem from sickle cell disease.
During the event, Nigeria's new Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, explained that his ministry was working with various health groups and organizations to tackle the disease and bring respite to sufferers. He noted a country-wide push to screen as many newborns for the disease as possible. Specifically, federal government plans to purchase three High Performance Liquid Chromatography machines for screening purposes and is considering the acquisition of bone marrow transplant technology which has been shown to cure the disease. Chukwu went on to add that the government will purchase proguanil, which is a drug used to treat the disease and promised that the Ministry of Health will provide
“routine drugs and commodities such as multi-vitamins, folic acid, anti-biotics, insecticide treated nets and other anti-malarial drugs free to sickle sufferers in approved health facilities across the country.”
NO MENTION OF NICOSAN?
While it is good to know that the Jonathan administration plans to not only screen for, but obtain the technology to cure SCD, it is odd that Chukwu failed to mention Nicosan. Nicosan is a patented drug that has been shown to improve the life condition of SCD sufferers. In fact, those using the drug tend to not experience the painful and debilitating 'crises' incidents that are a primary symptom of SCD. The drug was created from a Nigerian herbal remedy and the Nigerian government, under former President Obasanjo, pumped millions into its creation. Currently, a combination of negligence, greed and corruption, led to a halt in the manufacture and sale of the drug and the license is in limbo due to a lack of government support. That being the case, why would the federal government not want to re-inject life into Nicosan's manufacture - a drug that is indigenous to the country and could transform the lives of millions? In this year, when Nigeria plans to celenrate its 50th year of independence, Nicosan could bring pride to citizens, be an example of Nigerian success and allow the country to become the herbal remedy capital of the world.
WHY BUY PROGUANIL & NOT INVEST IN HOME-MADE PRODUCT?
Instead, the Nigerian government plans to give money to Astra Zeneca, the manufacturer of Proguanil. Astra Zeneca is a British-Swedish pharmaceutical company and giving it money for its drug might help to improve the lives of Nigerian SCD sufferers, but in the long run, that purchase agreement will do little to build Nigeria's intellectual capacity. Furthermore, Nigeria would have ignored a local and sensible option while making 'others' richer.
This approach only reinforces the widely held belief that the Nigerian government and the officials that constitute it, are more interested in making money from inflated contracts that taking visionary steps to improve Nigeria's short- and long term needs. And, the possibility that Nigeria has no concise record of how many sickle cell patients there are in the country represent another disturbing reality about Nigeria, it's leadership and the challenges the country must face in order to become a country that functions and could become one of the most important in the world.
http://www.nigeriancuriosity.com/2010/06/nigeria-sickle-cell-nicosan-corruption.html
The freeloader are back.
Greetings from Austria to the real xkem'er.
montanus
Estimated Market Cap
$39,147 as of Aug 24, 2010
Outstanding Shares
48,933,624 as of Mar 31, 2008
Authorized Shares
200,000,000 as of Jun 21, 2007
Number of Shareholders of Record
139 as of Apr 15, 2008
What's happen here?
I searched the quotes at knobias...
Bid 0,17$
Ask 0,19$
Was there a split??
TVLS @0,165$ - IHUB software error...??
Court calendar:
Thursday 08/26/10
08bk30512
This[293]
Orig[278]
XECHEM INC CH. 11
Notice of Motion and Uncontested Motion to Vacate (related documents [273] Order Scheduling) Filed by Sara E Lorber on behalf of Ramesh Pandey.
08bk30512
This[294]
XECHEM INC CH. 11
Status Hearing Hearing Continued . Status hearing
08bk30512
This[295]
Orig[290]
XECHEM INC CH. 11
Notice of Motion and Motion to Withdraw as Attorney Filed by Sara E Lorber on behalf of The Law Office of William J. Factor, Ltd..
Thursday 09/02/10
11:00 AM
10ap00065
This[13]
XECHEM INC 08BK30512, OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF UNSECURED CREDITORS V. SWIFT ET AL AP
Adversary case 10-00065. (02 (Other (e.g. other actions that would have been brought in state court if unrelated to bankruptcy))): Complaint by Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors against Robert Swift, Cosmid Corp. LLC. Fee Amount $250.Status hearing
10ap00065
This[14]
XECHEM INC 08BK30512, OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF UNSECURED CREDITORS V. SWIFT ET AL AP
Final Pre Trial Order . Pre-Trial Conference set for 9/2/2010 at 11:00 AM at 219 South Dearborn, Courtroom 682, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Discovery Cutoff 7/1/2010. Trial date set for 10/18/2010 at 01:30 PM at 219 South Dearborn, Courtroom 682, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Continued Trial date set for 10/19/2010 at 01:30 PM at 219 South Dearborn, Courtroom 682, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Continued Trial date set for 10/21/2010 at 01:30 PM at 219 South Dearborn, Courtroom 682, Chicago, Illinois 60604.Continued Trial date set for 10/22/2010 at 01:30 PM at 219 South Dearborn, Courtroom 682, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Signed on 4/28/2010 (Henley, Mary)
.....and Ms. West is the founder and CEO of Healthient, Inc:
http://healthient.com/
Do you want to buy a shake, Tom?
:)
Alverson's new company:
http://biz.yahoo.com/e/100713/tias.ob8-k.html
Form 8-K for TIME ASSOCIATES, INC.
13-Jul-2010
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Changes in Control or Registran
ITEM 1.01. ENTRY INTO A MATERIAL DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT
Agreement for the Purchase of Common Stock
Michael F. Pope and Philip C. La Puma (the "Stockholders"), the majority shareholders, officers and directors of Time Associates, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the "Registrant") sold a total of 18, 661,000 shares of common stock of the Registrant pursuant to a share purchase agreement entered into as of July 7, 2010 (the "Share Purchase Agreement") with William Alverson (the "Buyer"). In accordance with the terms and provisions of the Share Purchase Agreement, the Stockholders sold an aggregate of 18,661,000 shares of common stock of the Registrant to the Buyer in exchange for $258,000 (the "Purchase Price"). The closing and consummation of the Share Purchase Agreement occurred July 8, 2010 (the "Closing Date"). The Purchase Price shall be paid as follows:
(i) $180,000 has been paid as of the Closing Date; (ii) $78,000 shall be paid within 60 days of the Closing Date pursuant to a promissory note and pledge agreement (the Note"). A total of 13,200,000 shares has been delivered to the Buyer. The remaining 5,461,000 shares of common stock will be delivered to the Buyer upon the payment of the Note. As of the Closing Date, the new officers and directors of the Registrant have been appointed and the then current officers and directors of the Registrant have resigned.
A copy of the Share Purchase Agreement is filed with this report as Exhibit 10.1 and is incorporated by reference herein. The foregoing description of the Share Purchase Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the stock purchase agreement.
Item 5.01 CHANGES IN CONTROL OF REGISTRANT.
As a result of the transaction described in Item 1.01, a change in control occurred with respect to the Registrant's capital stock ownership.
Beneficial Ownership Chart
The following table sets forth certain information, as of the date hereof, with respect to the beneficial ownership of the outstanding common stock by: (i) any holder of more than five (5%) percent; (ii) each of our executive officers and directors; and (iii) our directors and executive officers as a group. Except as otherwise indicated, each of the stockholders listed below has sole voting and investment power over the shares beneficially owned. Unless otherwise indicated, each of the stockholders named in the table below has sole voting and investment power with respect to such shares of common stock. Beneficial ownership consists of a direct interest in the shares of common stock, except as otherwise indicated. As of the date of this Current Report, there are 24,394,040 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.
Amount and
Nature of Percentage of
Name and Address of Beneficial Beneficial
Beneficial Owner(1) Ownership(1) Ownership
Directors and Officers:
William Alverson, 13,200,000* 54.11%*
Director
4440 PGA Blvd Ste 600
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
33410
Michael F. Pope 3,130,500 12.83%
907 E. Wilson Ave
Orange, CA 92867
Philip C. La Puma 3,130,500 12.83%
1786 N. Pheasant St.
Anaheim, CA 92867
Katherine T. West, CEO, 0 0%
President and Director
4440 PGA Blvd, Suite 600
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
33410
All executive officers 19,461,000 79.77%
and directors as a group
(4 persons)
Beneficial Shareholders
Greater than 10%
None
* Mr. Alverson is entitled to additional 5,461,000 shares of common stock currently held by Messrs. Pope and La Puma under the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement upon the payment of the $78,000 Note. Upon transfer of such shares, Mr. Alverson's beneficial ownership in the Registrant will increase to 76.5%.
(1) Under Rule 13d-3, a beneficial owner of a security includes any person who, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise has or shares: (i) voting power, which includes the power to vote, or to direct the voting of shares; and (ii) investment power, which includes the power to dispose or direct the disposition of shares. Certain shares may be deemed to be beneficially owned by more than one person (if, for example, persons share the power to vote or the power to dispose of the shares). In addition, shares are deemed to be beneficially owned by a person if the person has the right to acquire the shares (for example, upon exercise of an option) within 60 days of the date as of which the information is provided. In computing the percentage ownership of any person, the amount of shares outstanding is deemed to include the amount of shares beneficially owned by such person (and only such person) by reason of these acquisition rights. As a result, the percentage of outstanding shares of any person as shown in this table does not necessarily reflect the person's actual ownership or voting power with respect to the number of shares of common stock actually outstanding as of the date of this Annual Report.
Item 5.02 DEPARTURE OF DIRECTORS OR CERTAIN OFFICERS; ELECTION OF DIRECTORS; APPOINTMENT OF CERTAIN OFFICERS; COMPENSATORY ARRANGEMENTS OF CERTAIN OFFICERS.
(b) Resignation of Officer and Director
Michael F. Pope, Philip La Puma and Victoria Pope resigned as the Registrant's respective officers and directors as of the Closing Date as that term is defined in the Share Purchase Agreement.
(c) Appointment of Officer
On July 7, 2010, the Registrant appointed Katherine T. West, age 40, as its Chief Executive Officer and President. Ms. West is the founder and CEO of Healthient, Inc., parent company of SnackHealthy. From 2002 to 2009 she served on the board of directors and held various titles including executive vice president and chief financial officer for Travelstar.
(d) Appointment of Directors
On July 7, 2010, the Registrant appointed William Alverson and Katherine T. West to serve as the members on its Board of Directors. William Alverson, age 45 is founder of Jupiter Venture Partners. He began his career in the financial services industry in 1989 as a financial advisor at American Express. He served as Chairman W.M.A & Associates, financial services firm where he guided private companies through their first rounds of financing and public listings. His largest holdings included Pacific Snacks, Travelmax, Baby Genius, FreeRealTime.com, and Travelstar (Chairman, CEO) Mr. Alverson is married to Ms. West.
ITEM 9.01 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit No. Exhibit Description
10.1 Share Purchase Agreement between the Registrant,
Michael F. Pope, Philip C. La Puma and William
Alverson, dated July 8, 2010