is dreaming of Nicosan4All ;-)
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
From today... UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
- NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS -
THE HONORABLE JACK SCHMETTERER, PRESIDING
LOCATION: COURTROOM 682
EASTERN DIVISION
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Updated 12/01/2009 @ 04:08:PM CST
11:00 AM
08bk30512
This[233]
Orig[211] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Notice of Motion and Motion to Compel Col. Bhuwan Pandey to Produce Documents Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Xechem, Inc. et al..
08bk30512
This[234] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Status Hearing on Plan and Disclosure Statement.
08bk30512
This[218]
Orig[138] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Notice of Hearing and Objection to Claim(s) 9,10 Filed by Douglas S Draper on behalf of Xechem Inc.
08bk30512
This[241]
Orig[212] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Notice of Motion and Application to Employ Basu Capital LLC as Capital Finder Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Xechem, Inc. et al..
08bk30513
This[167]
Orig[65] XECHEM INTERNATIONAL, INC. CH. 11
Notice of Hearing and Objection to Claim(s) 45 Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.
08bk30513
This[167]
Orig[64] XECHEM INTERNATIONAL, INC. CH. 11
Notice of Hearing and Objection to Claim(s) 33 Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.
08bk30513
This[181]
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.
08bk30513
This[181]
Orig[74] XECHEM INTERNATIONAL, INC. CH. 11
Notice of Hearing and Objection to Claim(s) 25 Filed by Douglas S Draper on behalf of XECHEM International, Inc..
08bk30513
This[181]
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.
08bk30513
This[181]
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..
NIPRD & Nicosan mentioned in this YouTube Video
Nigeria’s plants provide cures for global diseases
By Alex Abutu
Nigeria's reputation as a global centre for drug discovery has received another boost with the announcement of a research utilising tea leaves and fruit from the wild, which is showing positive results against type-2 diabetes.
The research, conducted at the University of Copenhagen and published in Alphagalileo, said the researchers at the University harvested the ingredients for the tea, totalling approximately fifty kilos of leaves and three hundred kilos of fruits, from the wild in Nigeria.
As scientists and researchers direct their attention to natural products to combat the growing global disease burden, they are discovering the wealth within Nigeria-the country with the largest moist equatorial forest and plant endemism in Africa. Of 150,000 plant species or higher plants estimated to be present in tropical countries, about 30,000 are found in Africa. Nigeria accounts for three quarter of the African estimate.
Currently, tea leaves and other fruits from Nigeria's wild are undergoing various investigations in laboratories across the world in an attempt to find solution to some of the diseases that have ravaged humanity. The University of Copenhagen treated the tea exactly as local healers would do: boil the leaves, young stalks and fruit and filter the liquid.
The researchers, including a Nigerian, Joan Campbell-Toftel, tested the tea on genetically diabetic mice. The results of the tests, according to the scientists, shows that six weeks of daily treatment with the African tea, combined with a low-fat diet, resulted in changes in the combination and amount of fat in the animals' eyes and protection of the fragile pancreas of the mice.
The researchers have also recently completed a four-month clinical test on 23 patients with type-2 diabetes and expressed satisfaction with the result.
The research subjects drank 750ml of tea each day. The cure appears to differentiate itself from other current type-2 diabetes treatments because the tea does not initially affect the sugar content of the blood," said Mr. Campbell-Tofte. "But after four months of treatment with tea, we can, however, see a significant increase in glucose tolerance."
From sickle cell to HIV
In 2004, some leaves from Nigeria had, against all odds, brought relief to sickle cell sufferers across the globe when researchers at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), banking on indigenous knowledge of the use of herbs, produced NIPRISAN, a potent drug for the management of sickle cell.
The drug was acknowledged by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, at a ceremony to mark its formal launch, in 2007, as the only potent treatment of sickle cell globally. The achievement was picked up by an American company, Xechem International Pharmaceutical Company, which bought the right from the Nigerian government to mass produce and market the drug now known as NICOSAN.
The license granted the company by government was withdrawn in March 2009, following the inability of the company to meet conditions contained in the agreement regarding the availability and affordability of the drug. Currently, NIPRD and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USA, are collaborating on a research using Nigerian leaves, which is showing good signs in the treatment of Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
"US and Nigerian scientists at NIPRD are currently engaged in a joint research activity to test the efficacy of remedies for tuberculosis used by traditional healers in Nigeria. It is our hope that this collaboration continues and results in better therapeutic products," US Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders, said recently. At the Institute for Advanced Medical Research Training, University of Ibadan, research has advanced on a discovery capable of reducing the global malaria mortality, which currently accounts for over two million deaths annually.
Edith Ajaiyeoba of the Department of Pharmcognosy at the University of Ibadan said the prospect of new drugs coming out of Nigeria's wild was brighter now than ever, in view of collaboration with other international research laboratories. William Folk, principal investigator at the International Centre for Indigenous Phytotherapy Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia, said he was optimistic that the possibility of developing a natural based drug for HIV/AIDS from the wild of Africa was high.
"In West Africa, there are well documented uses of indigenous plant spices used to treat malaria, diarrhoea, fever, pneumonia, tuberculosis, cryptococcal meningitis, oral candidiasis, herpes and other STI infections," he said. Muhammed Gwarzo of Bayero University, Kano. Mr. Gwarzo said Nigerian herbs administered by traditional healers to HIV-infected individuals has shown that the herbals, if properly evaluated, would provide a cure to the dreaded virus.
An anti-tuberculosis drug research conducted at NIPRD, by Nneka Ibekwe and others, also showed that of the 86 plants-based recipes used by Nigerian traditional medicine practitioners for the treatment of tuberculosis, about 60 percent were active from weak to high degrees.
Inyang Uford, Director General of NIPRD, said the institute was in the vanguard of investigating plant species based on ethnomedical information. "The potentials and efficacy of Nigeria's leaves is no longer in doubt but how the country prepares itself to spearhead and encourage research into the wild to ensure it benefits from the global multi-billion dollar drug industry is what is at stake," he said.
Related link
Use of medicinal plants for the treatment of measles in Nigeria
The present study was an ethnobotanical survey of three Local Government areas of the Ijebu area of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria for plants used in the treatment of measles.
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5420635-146/Nigeria%E2%80%99s_plants_provide_cures_for_global.csp
OPPORTUNITIES IN AND HURDLES TO NATURAL-PRODUCTS- DERIVED DRUGS INNOVATION IN NIGERIA.? Joseph I. OkogunNational Institute for Pharmaceutical Research AndDevelopment, Idu Industrial Estate, Abuja,Nigeria.The Research Continuum in Natural Products DrugDiscovery,May 12th – 14th 2009, Abuja, Nigeria
RESULTS OF RESEARCH IN THE CHEMISTRYOF PLANTS IN NIGERIA? TRAINING OF ORGANIC CHEMISTS UNDER THE CLASSICALMODEL: ALL NIGERIAN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY PROFESSORS MADEUP TO ABOUT THE MID-NINETIES AND A FEW AFTER THEN.? CHEMOTAXONOMY OR CHEMOSYSTEMATICS OF THE FAMILY OFPLANTS MELIACEAE – LIMONOIDS(MELIACINS) . IBADANCHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT, THE PIONEER IN THE AREACONTRIBUTED EXTENSIVELY TO THE 300 OR SO STRUCTURESCHARACTERISTIC OF THE FAMILY…D. A. H. TAYLOR,1984 ? HERBAL MEDICINE PRACTISED BY NIGERIANS HAVE BEENMOSTLY JUSTIFIED BY THE ISOLATION OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVEPRINCIPLES … COLLABORATION WITH PHARMACOLOGISTS ANDMEDICAL PRACITIONERS? PRODUCTION OF EFFECTIVE PHYTODRUGS FOR THEMANAGEMENT OF SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA FOR EXAMPLE:NICOSAN(NIPRD/ZECHEM), CYCLAVIT(NEMEITH), ETC.
https://conferences.niaid.nih.gov/ResearchContinuumConference/Presentations/Presentations-%20May%2013%20(Day%20Two)/Okogun.pdf
NIPRD PARTNERS LOCAL HERBALISTS
FOR NEW DRUGS DEVELOPMENT
February 14, 2009
The National Institute for pharmaceutical Research and Development has reiterated its commitment to partner with local herbalists to produce drugs for critical diseases affecting people all over the world
The Director General of the Institute, Dr. Uford S. Inyang stated this at the merit award ceremony for staff of the Institute who distinguished themselves in the quest for new drugs development and other areas of the Institute’s mandate.
Renewing the call on local herbalists to collaborate with NIPRD, Inyang noted that the Institute is one of the best research institutions in the world that has a very enviable profit sharing program and promised to sign memorandum of understanding if anything comes out of the collaborative effort.
The Director General also stated that in the case of NICOSAN™, produced in NIPRD for the management of sickle cell anemia still generates royalty to the late Pa Ogunyele who brought the recipes.
According to the NIPRD Chief Executive, “We have done a survey of eight states and collected 120 recipes for tuberculosis and through the research effort of very skilled, experienced and internationally acclaimed scientists at NIPRD we have been able to narrow those recipes to about 10. The 10 compound are being worked on very seriously and we are hopeful by the grace of God we will be able to get five patents out of them and will be able to get a new drug”.
He noted that NIPRD has sustainable infrastructure for self reliance research and development which makes it number one in the area of product research and therefore attributed the success of NIPRD to committed staff. Dr Inyang also expressed appreciation to the present administration which is committed to funding NIPRD.
Six categories of award were presented to deserving staff, while the Etsu Karu, Pharmacist Luka Panya and representatives of Federal Ministry of Health, Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) and National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructures (NASENI) were present at the occasion.
Health minister, NAFDAC DG, others task pharmaceutical industry on professionalism in healthcare delivery
By Wole Oyebade
MINISTER of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, has again reiterated that the pharmaceutical industry is one of the veritable avenues of achieving qualitative healthcare delivery in the country, and therefore, tasked the industry to strive for professionalism in standards and services.
In his address at the Networking evening and formal presentation of the Nigerian Pharmaceutical (NIPHARM) code of ethics to stakeholders, organised by the Nigerian Representatives of Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (NIROPHARM), under the theme: "Professionalism in healthcare delivery: A multi-disciplinary approach," held at Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos, Hong said that compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in letter and spirit, by local manufacturers of pharmaceutical products, would promote local drug production and also eradicate the menace of fake and substandard drugs.
He said, "one essential way of achieving professionalism in healthcare delivery is through the pharmaceutical industry. The effective compliance with GMP by local manufacturers of pharmaceuticals can eliminate fake and substandard drugs. I will therefore encourage NIROPHARM to consider the wise option of investing in local drug production as a matter of priority if its members are to enjoy superior government patronage."
The Minister, who was represented by the Head of Department of Food and Drug Services, Federal Ministry of Health, Joe Adagadzu, emphasized government's commitment and support for local manufacturing industries. "For the avoidance of doubts, government is determined to increase its level of patronage of genuine local manufacturers of essential drugs. This is in line with its commitment to promote investment in local drug production. The government will promote and protect the future of our industries and will therefore do everything possible to encourage and support the industry.
"The future of those who invest in local manufacturing will be guaranteed by government. All existing policies aimed at protecting the industry will be further strengthened to avoid unnecessary policy somersaults that can erode the confidence of genuine investors. This country must move forward as this government is in a hurry to achieve its vision of industrialisation," Hong said.
Director General of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, observed that the trio of NAFDAC, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), whose responsibility it is to combat the problem of fake drugs, had not been able to rid the country of such malaise.
He added that: "The time has now come for all to unite our forces against the monster of counterfeiting of products in the country. NIROPHARM's initiative is commendable. It is significant to note that the determination of NIROPHARM towards developing pharmaceutical code of promotional practices is to ensure that pharmaceutical companies maintain high ethical standards when conducting professional practices and also complies with principles of laid down regulatory requirements.
"NIROPHARM is one the stakeholders in the regulation and control of drugs among others, in Nigeria. On the other hand, NAFDAC is a government agency mandated to regulate and control the use of drugs...
We would use a holistic approach in regulation all classes of product with which NAFDAC demanded, and we would bring international standard on regulatory activities. In line with this, we are ready to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders and development partners in fighting against drug counterfeiting. NAFDAC therefore supports the initiative of NIPHARM, as its effective implementation would improve professional standard with our healthcare delivery system," the DG said.
The Chairman of the event, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, commenting on the NIPHARM code of ethics, said the code is in line with the provisions of international regulatory bodies and targeted at professionalism in standard and care giving services.
The former Secretary of Health called on all stakeholders to dutifully comply with the codes of NIPHARM as it would: "Ensure world-class professional standard of service and care for the patients. Ensure the professional image, credibility and public opinion of the healthcare professional. It would also create a platform for improving relationships between healthcare professionals and regulators," Adelusi-Adeluyi said.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/science/article06//indexn3_html?pdate=261109&ptitle=Health minister, NAFDAC DG, others task pharmaceutical industry on professionalism in healthcare delivery&cpdate=261109
Jail for charity chief who stole £22,200 funds
(UKPA) – 14 hours ago
A charity chief from north London who siphoned off thousands of pounds for the incurably ill to bolster his benefit payments has been jailed for 18 months.
Former asylum seeker Ngoy Bin Ngoy, 39, of Rowley Gardens, Manor House, was the trustee and chairman of the Sickle Cell Advice Bureau (SCAB) which he set up in 2002 two years after becoming a British citizen.
He told the National Lottery, the Home Office, the Scarman Trust and local investment funds he wanted to provide information and support for those suffering from the inherited blood disorder.
They believed him and handed over thousands at a time. But not a single penny went on charitable work.
Instead, he systematically milked the organisation's coffers of more than £22,200 and blew every penny he was given on his "own purposes".
London's Southwark Crown Court heard he was eventually arrested and, after a thorough investigation by police and the Charity Commission, charged with a string of offences.
However, minutes before his trial Ngoy, admitted one of them - theft of £22,249 from SCAB in December 2002.
Seven assorted deception counts, which he continued to deny, were "left on the file" and not proceeded with.
Sentencing, Judge Peter Testar told the father-of-four: "There can be no doubt that this is a case which attracts a custodial sentence.
"It is important when money is obtained by way of grants for charitable purposes that the public has confidence that the money thereby obtained is not used dishonestly."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5ifx7_0eR55g7Ff9tgYQUxk5uVyoQ
Initiative could result in paradigm shift in the care of sickle cell patients
IMAGE: These are sickle cell study co-principal investigators Drs. Robert W. Gibson (left) and Abdullah Kutlar.
Augusta, Ga. - The Medical College of Georgia is leading an initiative that could result in a paradigm shift in the care of patients with sickle cell disease.
Morehouse University School of Medicine and University of Florida are partners in the initiative that is enlisting primary care physicians across Georgia to serve as "medical homes" for patients, changing how patients are treated when a pain crisis sends them to the hospital and seeking better prevention and treatment strategies for the pain and organ damage caused by the genetic disease affecting 1 in 500 blacks in the United States.
"This is an exciting opportunity to really take on sickle cell disease from many angles: from ensuring that patients get regular medical care to improving hospital care to dissecting why patients respond to pain and analgesics differently," said Dr. Abdullah Kutlar, director of the MCG Sickle Cell Center.
IMAGE: Dr. Matthew L. Lyon, emergency medicine physician, thinks that observation units are better places than busy emergency departments for sickle cell patients needing after-hours care.
Drs. Kutlar and Robert W. Gibson, an occupational therapist and medical anthropologist at MCG, are co-principal investigators for the $7 million, five-year grant from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health to support the multifaceted strategy they believe will make a big difference in the lives of patients.
Major projects include:
Establishing programs to ensure proper health care for pediatric patients as they grow into adults. The average life expectancy for patients with this chronic disease now reaches into the 50s. Such transitions are difficult, Dr. Gibson said, even in countries with publicly funded health care. "Are they seeing an adult physician for their health care? Have they made some kind of arrangement to have their health care reimbursed?" are questions that need answering, he said. Researchers will work with children age 12 to 17 to determine what they know, what they need to know and to identify the best way to teach them to prepare for care as adults. "We have a lot of significant legal change at age 18," Dr. Gibson said. "We will be looking at ways to measure independence. How do we know a kid is ready to go to adult medicine? We want to give patients more information and more control." Researchers will start with children and their families followed by MCG in Augusta, Albany, Waycross and other outreach sites across the state.
Helping build medical homes that provide comprehensive care using family medicine physicians and residents across Georgia that have been given additional training in treating the disease. Hematologists, or blood specialists, that have historically been the front line physicians, are now "an endangered species," said Dr. Kutlar, a hematologist who has directed MCG's Sickle Cell Center for more than 15 years. The grant will establish ongoing education programs for physicians with an interest in treating these patients with lifelong needs. "This is a disease of red blood cells but it goes far beyond that in its implications," Dr. Kutlar said. "Abnormal red blood cells interact with the blood vessels and patients can have strokes, problems with the eyes, lungs, heart, spleen, kidneys, skeletal system." Improved care means longer lives but more potential for cumulative damage to body systems and serious health care problems. Dr. Richard Lottenberg, a hematologist at the University of Florida with expertise in outcomes in sickle cell disease, will lead the initiative to pilot studies focusing on family medicine physicians and residents at an MCG-affiliated program in Waycross and at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany. "The idea is to train family doctors and residents in some of the prevention measures hematologists would do and treatment of some of the major diseases these patients face," said Dr. Paul D. Forney, vice chairman of the MCG Department of Family Medicine who directs its resident educational programs.
IMAGE: Dr. Dorothy Y.H. Tuan, molecular biologist, and Dr. Xingguo Zhu, assistant research scientist, are studying the body's natural switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin.
Creating a project to encourage primary care doctors to specialize in sickle cell disease and give young scientists the opportunity to work in established laboratories of veteran scientists. Primary care physicians in the project led by Dr. Thomas Adamkiewicz, a physician-scientist from Morehouse, will attend sickle cell clinics around the state to meet patients outside the hospital setting. "Most physicians will only see patients during a crisis, they may lack an understanding of the daily, chronic problems that these patients face," Dr. Kutlar said.
Helping physicians and hospitals statewide set up observations centers that keep sickle cell patients experiencing a pain crisis out of busy emergency departments where they might not receive proper pain relief. Many patients undergo such pain episodes because of insufficient oxygen to tissue and bone and oddly shaped blood cells banging against vessel walls. About 40 percent of patients seek immediate medical attention, typically in an emergency department, with 5 percent of sickle cell patients averaging three to 10 of these pain episodes annually. In fact, pain crises are responsible for 90 percent of sickle cell patient hospitalizations. Dr. Matthew L. Lyon, an emergency physician who directs the Observation Unit at MCGHealth Medical Center, believes observation units – established at many hospitals for chest pain patients – are a better spot than busy emergency departments where patients might stay for hours receiving intravenous analgesics that may not be providing relief due to the patient's increased drug tolerance. In fact, patients at times becoming suspect as to whether they need or just want the drugs. "They have had lifelong pain so their tolerance is different," said Dr. Lyon. "They don't show pain the way you or I would." At MCGHealth Medical Center the standard has become patients going directly to the less- hectic observation unit where they receive pain pumps to self-administer drugs in small doses and pain pills that will get them through the crisis and back to their lives. "The PCA pump is to get you to a steady state and the oral meds are to keep you there," said Dr. Lyon who will be measuring outcomes for patients, including the need for a return visit, and working with physicians and hospitals across Georgia to set up similar systems.
Better understanding the genetic modifications behind variations in the frequency, intensity and treatment of pain crises. Researchers believe their studies, which will include pain diaries kept by patients, will enable individualized pain treatment strategies that improve quality of life and avoid the mischaracterization of patients as drug seekers. Opioid pain relievers, such as morphine, are frequently used to treat pain crises by targeting the Mu opioid receptor gen. Variations of this receptor gene appear to affect response to pain relievers as well as the pain threshold. Studying these variations and the impact on pain perception will likely help explain the variations in pain response and drug need physicians see in patients, Dr. Kutlar said.
Researching the body's natural switch from production of fetal hemoglobin – which cannot sickle – to adult hemoglobin during the first weeks of life. Because most adults have only miniscule amounts of fetal hemoglobin, understanding the switching process could lead to better drugs that selectively raise the levels and essentially eliminate the pain and organ damage resulting from sickle cell disease. Dr. Dorothy Y.H. Tuan, a molecular biologist at MCG who studies the switch, believes it has to do with the changing genetic expression from fetus to adult. She believes part of how hydroxyurea, the only FDA-approved drug for sickle cell, switches expression back to the fetal state is by activating the transcription factor, GATA-2, which binds to the promoter sequence of the fetal hemoglobin gene. "This is our hypothesis and we need to prove it," she said
Developing a novel therapy for treating sickle cell disease by decoding signaling that enables fetal hemoglobin production in adults. "What is it and how can we tweak it?" said Dr. Steffen E. Meiler, an anesthesiologist and vice chair of research in Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. Some 70 known compounds raise fetal hemoglobin levels and he said there is common and disparate ground among them. Drs. Meiler and Tohru Ikuta, a molecular hematologist, suspect that with hydroxyurea, somewhere along the line where red blood cells are produced, the drug sends the message to keep on making fetal hemoglobin. The process begins when hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow differentiate into erythroid progenitor cells and, eventually, into red blood cells which contain hemoglobin, the oxygen carrying component of the cells. The grant will enable researchers to walk the line of red blood cell development in an animal model of sickle cell disease as well as human hematopoietic stem cells from healthy people and those with sickle cell disease. "We are looking for telephone lines. We need to know which ones are firing, which ones are silent and how do these drugs play into that," Dr. Ikuta said. They note that there is no known down side to continued high expression of fetal hemoglobin. In fact, some people have naturally high levels and those with sickle cell disease fortunate enough to have this aberration typically have few if any disease symptoms.
###
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/mcog-icr112309.php
There is much more to this story you quote, and since these 'activities' continue even today, what has transpired with Xechem is just another 'angle', albeit more sophisticated to try and escape notice. Kudos to us, the shareholders for doing what we can to shed light where it needs to shine. Several here will remember CWTD and it's promotions and pps swings some four or five years ago. IMO the 'punishment' is still way too lenient.
Vancouver promoter How Wai John Hui has been sentenced to four years and three months for his role in a stock spam scheme. Judge Marianne O. Battani imposed jail time on him and three others in a Detroit courtroom on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. The others included Alan Ralsky, the self-proclaimed "Godfather of spam," who also received four years and three months in jail.
Prosecutors claimed the men were part of a scheme to promote thinly traded Chinese companies with spam in the summer of 2005. The stocks that the men promoted included OTC Bulletin Board listing China World Trade Corp., which had Mr. Hui as its chief executive officer. Another company was Vancouver-based China Mobility Solutions Inc.
The government said the sentences, which were longer than prosecutors had requested, will send a message to stock market spammers. "People who use fraudulent e-mails to drive up stock prices and reap illicit profits will be prosecuted, and they will face significant prison time," said a statement released by Detroit's Assistant Attorney General, Lanny Breuer.
Mr. Hui had faced a maximum of 20 years in jail, but prosecutors recommended a sentence of three years and three months, because he pled guilty early in the case and offered to testify against his co-defendants. Prior to his sentencing, Mr. Hui had asked the judge not to send him to jail. He said he had effectively been a prisoner in the United States for nearly two years, and that he had health problems.
The judge did not grant his request. In addition to the jail term, she ordered Mr. Hui to serve three years of supervised release, and to forfeit $500,000 to the U.S. government. Mr. Ralsky received five years of supervised release, and he must forfeit $250,000. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)
more here...
http://www.stockwatch.com/newsit/newsit_newsit.aspx?bid=Z-U:CWTD-1665094&symbol=CWTD&news_region=U
Discoveries: Where Are the Natural Product Drugs?
By Roland Ogbonnaya, 05.31.2009
More recent... (May 09)
Local and international scientists, researchers, pharmacists and other stakeholders in natural and traditional health products converged on Abuja recently to showcase and give insight to their research efforts. After the meeting, it was discovered that if most of the research results are produced into drugs and commercialised, Africa will no doubt meet half of its drugs need. Roland Ogbonnaya writes
An article in a foreign journal sounded the danger alarm and the need for poor countries, including Nigeria and other African countries on the need to be self sufficient in drugs production. According to the report, there is a scramble among wealthy nations to guard against a swine-flu pandemic which was raising concerns that billions of people in poorer countries could be left without adequate supplies of vaccine.
It stated that an increasing number of Western countries are signing agreements with vaccine makers guaranteeing them a certain number of doses should a pandemic occur. By locking up the supply in advance, they are making it even tougher for poor countries to get access to the shots they would need, the journal quoted some critics.
Leaders from the World Health Organisation and the United Nations recently met with drug-company executives in Geneva, in part to hash out possible solutions to the vaccine problem. The emerging battle between the haves and have-nots underscores a major weakness in the global health system: pharmaceutical companies have severely limited capacity to produce flu vaccines in emergencies.
According to the report, the WHO estimates drug companies will be able to produce between one billion and two billion doses of vaccine a year for a pandemic, depending on how much active ingredient is needed per dose. That is far short of the world's population of 6.8 billion. Wealthy countries-including the UK, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria-have been moving quickly to snap up the available capacity, ordering enough shots to cover much of their populations.
For example, the UK said it has a four-year, 155.4 pound million ($236.62 million) contract with GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Baxter International Inc. that guarantees delivery of up to 132 million doses of vaccine. The Netherlands is also considering placing an advance order for 34 million doses, a spokeswoman for the country's health ministry said. The US government has taken a slightly different approach, cutting deals with drug companies to boost capacity.
This year alone, the US awarded Novartis AG $486 million toward the construction of a vaccine factory that will be able to produce 150 million doses within six months of a pandemic being declared-a deal that gives the US first dib on the vaccine, according to Andrin Oswald, Novartis's head of vaccines and diagnostics.
The WHO however, hasn't yet decla
red a swine-flu pandemic, nor have drug companies started producing pandemic vaccine in large quantities. Once they do, it will take four to six months for the first doses to become available. Meanwhile, developing nations are sounding alarms about their vulnerable position. In a recent statement, health ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam, said "access to effective pandemic vaccines is a major problem in this region," and called on the WHO for help.
WHO vaccine official Marie-Paule Kieny said the organisation is talking to vaccine manufacturers "to try to ensure access for developing countries." Anders Tegnell, a director of Sweden's national board of health and welfare, said Swedish officials discussed the ethics of the issue before signing an accord with Glaxo for pandemic vaccine.
"If we have advance purchase agreements or not, still the bulk of production will most likely go to rich countries, because that's the way the market works," he said. He said pandemic flu vaccines might not even be the best investment for poor countries, which are battling more pressing health problems, including HIV and malaria.
Drug companies have said they recognise the problem of getting vaccines to poorer nations. A Baxter spokesman said the company will "be taking our lead from global health authorities" about how to "manage multiple priorities." A Glaxo spokesman said the company is "absolutely committed" to providing pandemic vaccine to poor countries.
Glaxo recently said it plans to start producing a pre-pandemic vaccine against the current strain of the A/H1N1 virus causing the swine-flu outbreak. There is no guarantee this vaccine would work during a pandemic if the virus mutates significantly. Glaxo said it plans to donate 50 million doses of this pre-pandemic vaccine to the WHO for use in the developing world.
It is therefore disheartening when one sees efforts that are being by developed and some developing nations to produce their needed drugs and vaccines, while little or nothing is done by African countries, including Nigeria to develop and produce their vaccines and drugs even from readily available natural products. This is not due to lack of research results, waiting to be commercialised or as a resulted of lack of manpower and organisations to engage in this, but largely due to lack of or no political will at all on the part of governments. This is more evident in Nigeria.
The world has today recognised the power of research and development as the only way to development be it in medicine or any other field of endeavour. This is the reason why when President Barrack Obama administration came; he pledged an estimated $850 billion economic stimulus package with two per cent of this amount going to research and development in sciences.
Of the almost $16 billion appropriated to research and development (R&D), $9.9 billion will go toward the conduct of research and development (mainly basic research), $3.4 billion will fund R&D facilities and large research equipment, while $2.5 billion will go toward non-R&D, but science- and technology-related funding
Among the organisations receiving the most funding are the National Institute of Health ($3.6 billion), National Science Foundation ($3 billion), the Department of Energy's Office of Science ($2 billion), and the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology ($520 million).
Those who might lay the blame on the door step of researchers and scientist would want to eat their words after listening to efforts so far made by African scientists to see that enough drugs for various ailments are produced in Africa. The scientists and other stakeholders recently converged on Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory in a symposium that focused on the research continuum for natural product-based drug discovery. During the meeting, ideas and knowledge were shared with hope that international research partnerships will be developed or strengthened.
There were presentations by Nigeria's and the world's leading scientists engaged in natural product researches. The three-day event also surveyed research activities in Nigeria, explored the important link between natural product research and new drug discovery, and generated discussions focused on promising research opportunities.
The symposium also featured sessions on the scientific activities required to translate research finding into pharmaceutical products, including the requirements for ethical and definitive clinical trials. The conference was organised by the Federal Ministry of Health, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), United States Department of Health and Human Services and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, United States.
At the opening ceremony, the Minister of Health Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin said research and innovation are essential drivers for the development of any modern economy. Health research, he said is a core component of this and is crucial to solving health problems and optimising health system performance. The Global Forum for Health Research has long advocated the importance of domestic health research, sufficient resources and capacity strengthening in developing countries, the Minister said.
In its most recent report, it highlighted the continuing under resourcing of research applied to the needs of developing countries. It will be recalled that in 2007, African Union Heads of State strongly urged members to promote research, development and innovation by allocating at least one per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the national economies to this area b 2010. This Osotimehin said is meant to improve local technological and human capacity to address local health problems.
“Presently, we have not been able to develop effective National Health Research on Health. It is yet to be passed by the National Assembly. When the policy is approved, my ministry will certainly formulate an effective national Health research system that will articulate a vision for health research, address the five primary functions of a health system and goals of the health research system amongst others,” he disclosed.
Osotimehin further explained that there are two major research institutes under his ministry. One is responsible for medical research and the other for pharmaceutical research and development. He said the two institutes are recognised as global leaders in their respective fields. “I am aware that NIPRD has developed a very successful research partnership with several national and international organisations that is consistent with the mandate setting it up,” he added.
The minister commended the partnership between NIPRD and the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which started in 2002. He described it as a successful and viable partnership, adding that successful research partnerships emphasise shared intellectual leadership, transparency, shared vision and strategic plan with focused objectives and mutual respect and trust. This condition, he stressed were fulfilled when NIPRD scientists identified areas of potential collaboration with NIAID. He enumerated the successes of the NIPRD and NIAID partnerships which span from anti-tuberculosis activity to employment of a biomedical engineer.
He pledged that his ministry will, as a matter of deliberate National Policy take responsibility to put in place and resource a basic natural health research system that will provide mechanism for research governance, which will guide, prioritise, manage and translate research into action.
He said “in addition to this, we will provide support to productive public research institutions, universities and non-governmental organisations, to foster and facilitate the discovery and development of phytomedicines novel drugs and other health interventions for diseases endemic in our region. We will also hold consultations with the local pharmaceutical industries to assess their needs and evolve an effective regime of incentives that will encourage them to partner with R&D institutions for product development.”
In an opening remark, US Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin R. Sanders said in the past five years, her government has partnered with the Nigerian government to help support scientific research and laboratory enhancements to address TB through natural product research in Nigeria. The US Government, she said has made a significant contribution towards developing and equipping the Biology and Chemistry Laboratory at the NIPRD. “It is a great credit to the leadership of NIPRD and the Ministry of Health that this laboratory, which I had the opportunity to commission last year along with Nigerian health organisation, is now a vital centre for biomedical research and training in Nigeria and for the entire West Africa.
“As you know, tuberculosis causes a heavy burden on the people in Nigeria` and new therapeutic drugs are urgently needed. NIH and NIPRD scientists have been engaged in joint research to test the efficacy of remedies for TB that are used by traditional healers meaning really going back to nature to find the solutions to some of our most pressing medical challenges.
“The foundation of this cooperation is the shared interest our scientists in mutually beneficial research. We are also exploring other ways to continue our cooperation particularly on multi-drug resistant TB. We want to encourage the Nigerian government to support these research affairs through counterpart funding with your partners like the US,” Sanders said.
In an overview of NIPRD research and development activities/capabilities in phytomedicine, Dr. Ufford Inyang, who is the director general and chief executive officer of the institute, said it has made impact in the provision of research and development support for the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector especially, in the area of raw material sourcing and development, provision of support in the discovery and development of new healthcare product in Nigeria as well as engagement in the development of herbal drugs sourced from the country's diverse flora.
He said the long term goals of the institute is also to provide raw materials required by the pharmaceutical industry, development of medicinal products for the treatment and management of Nigeria's priority diseases: HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, Diabetes and sickle cell disease as well as the production of diagnostic kits for HIV leading to the reduction in importation and substantial saving of foreign exchange.
Other goals include ensuring that Nigerians have access to good quality drugs by providing quality assurance laboratory services and creating a database accessible to the nation's healthcare providers and building local capacity for the synthesis of first line anti-retroviral and anti-malarial agents.
Inyang told his audience that one of the departments of his institutes has made tremendous achievements in the area of plant medicine being developed as immune-booster, the pharmacognosy and phytochemical characteristics of a number of herbal medicines including AM1(an anti-malarial product), AF1 have been established, the biologically active principles of a number of herbal extracts have been obtained through fractionation, while essential oils have been obtained from some aromatic and medicinal plants for R&D purposes.
He further explained that herbarium samples of 1,204 medicinal plants belonging to 703 species and 109 families have been prepared and preserved for reference, while a large amount of ethnobotanical information has been documented.
Making his incisive presentation at the occasion, Mr. T. F Okujagu, director-general and chief executive Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) in the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology said based on the background of work done at the Children's Hospital, Philadelphia (CHOP) and other researches, NIPRISAN, one of the drugs developed in Nigeria, was granted an Orphan Drug status by the US-Federal Drugs Agency on August 15th, 2003.
Okujagu said this was a major breakthrough for the Ministry of Science and Technology under which the institute achieved this feat. This is more so that the Orphan Drug status has added credibility and international acceptability to NICOSANTM (NIPRISAN) as a potent drug for the management of SCD.
To ensure its wide-scale production and commercialisation, he said the FMST made available its Chemistry Advanced Laboratory located in its facility at the Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO) to Xechem Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of Xechem International, which was incorporated in 2002 and have been granted the exclusive rights for development, production and marketing of NICOSANTM
Apart from this milestone, he said the agency focuses on developing appropriate low cost production, packaging and processing technology for small scale herbal medicine production and commercialisation as a foundation for establishing large-scale evidence bases for most of indigenous medicines. This is further intended to stimulate economic growth while serving as an impetus for generating the needed data for rational drug design. The NNMDA boss said both the data and economic/infrastructural output from this approach will serve as feedstock for a fledgling drug discovery industry in Nigeria.
Speaking earlier on synergism in drug discovery through regional private sector participation, the President and CEO of LaGray Chemical Company, Nsawam in Ghana, Paul Lartey said that major pharmaceutical companies invest heavily in R&D with the goal of being the first to commercialise the next drug in therapeutic area. He said the value of such companies lies in the intellectual property they own and the number of innovative drugs in their drugs development pipeline.
Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, the CEO of Neimeth Nigeria Limited in his presentation, explained the seamless gulf that has existed between researchers and pharmaceutical companies. He said pharmaceutical companies have not been able to work with researchers in turning their findings to real drugs, because of lack of the huge amount of money required to take up such projects as well as a gulf in communication between the two. He said that banks need to come in with adequate funding when there is such a research result that needs to produce into commercial drug.
According to Inyang and other experts who were at the workshop, Nigeria as well as other African countries needs to wake up if they yarn to meet half of the drug requirement of their respective countries.
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=144856
HIV, Others: NIPRD’s Successful Preclinical, Observational Studies
By Roland Ogbonnaya, 12.09.2007
From two years ago...
Nestled on an expanse land at Idu, a dusty outskirt of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FTC), the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) is central to Nigeria’s quest to produce its own drugs for various ailments. But due to a lot of factors, the research centre has done much in this direction in the past.
There was lot of factors that contributed to near prostrate position of the research centre in the past. One of them is the starving of funds by the Federal Government as well as lack of focus on the part of the past leadership of the centre even when it is endowed with some of the best research pharmacists.
The institute, since inception in 1989 has been operating from temporary structures provided for it by the engineering department of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA). The structures were originally designed for temporary field offices and their conversion to laboratories was without the necessary adjustment in infrastructural support in terms of utilities and space. By 1999, the temporary buildings were in terrible state of disrepair with damaged doors, leaking and collapsed roofs, cracked wall, faulty electrical systems increasing the fire hazard and virtual absence of toilet facilities.
In the laboratories, furniture had collapsed with the plumbing system in appalling condition and in a state of untidiness and unsafe for workers. It also resulted in damage to some of the most critical and valuable equipment in the institute. According to THISDAY investigation, it was so bad at a point when virtually all of the research equipment broke down. The location of the institute with poor power and water supply situation and reasons of poor maintenance of generators, water pumps and other ancillary equipment contributed to the poor performance of the centre.
In addition to these entire myriad of problems was also lack of funds. Before now, NIPRD was faced with the dual problem of poor allocation, unpredictable pattern of release and in some cases non-release of the funds. The attitude was that of considering research as being of low priority and at best an expensive luxury which could wait until more important economic issues have been completely tackled. As a result, the institute was completely shut out of the budget planning process. Where some funds were approved, the process of actually accessing such funds was chaotic and unpredictable.
Apart from needing a responsible government to change things, it also requires a sound and focused manager to turn things around; and that is what has happened at NIPRD. With the visionary and purposeful leadership of the Director General, Dr. Uford Inyang, the institute is on the part of performing its statutory objectives. Apart from renovating the dilapidated structures, the team led by Inyang, one of the foremost Nigerian pharmacists, built some other structures that served as laboratories and offices.
Since he took over the running of the research centre, NIPRD has been able to carry out preliminary laboratory investigations on a number of phytomedicines for the treatment/management of fungal infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS and peptic ulcer amongst others. This was done at the same time when a large numbers of research staff were trained locally and internationally.
“As would be expected with the entire challenges outlined, the research output of the institute during this period was quite low. It was also unable to attract much collaborative research activities in spite of the fact that it had achieved some reasonable level of international attention. Even the sickle cell project which had received a lot of publicity and on which significant work had been done was stalled before the coming of my administration,” Inyang told THISDAY in an interview in his office in Abuja recently.
He said since 1999 and especially, the institution of due process mechanism, the release of funds of approved budgetary provisions has been smooth and consistent, making it possible to plan, execute and most especially complete projects. The institute has also been involved in the various meetings to determine budgetary priorities where it has continually made the case for improved funding for pharmaceutical research and development. “So although funding is still far from the level desired, there are now more opportunities to make input which has resulted in slight improvement in the funding situation.
“Although all efforts to obtain funding to ensure completion of the laboratory complex in the institute have been unsuccessful so far, the present administration has provided funds for the total rehabilitation of the existing laboratory buildings and premises of the institute. Two buildings have been completed and commissioned to provide additional laboratory space which will encourage further collaboration with the international scientific community. These buildings have been provided with necessary laboratory infrastructure, such as benches, offices, fume, cupboards and ancillary services to make them fully functional as research laboratories,” Inyang said.
In addition, new highly sensitive research equipment was purchased to enhance research output and ensure that results obtained in the institute meet internationally accepted standards. Such equipment purchased include complete high performance liquid chromatography set with all required accessories which is used mainly in drug quality analyses, a full set of Kent cardiovascular equipment for cardiovascular research, a PCR and flow cytometre for use in HIV/AIDS research, an FTIR for use in structure elucidation and differential scanning calorimeter for use in raw materials development.
The drug manufacturing unit has also been fully renovated to meet NAFDAC’s regulatory standards with a view to obtain registration for the place as a certified drug manufacturing concern. Inyang also disclosed that the equipment have been renovated with additional equipment acquired to increase efficiency. He said the extractive pilot plant which was virtually moribund due to the faulty boiler was resituated recently and is now able to produce aromatic plant fragrances. It now works as a bulk extractor and extract concentrator, the institute’s director general told THISDAY.
At the commissioning of the new laboratory facilities recently, the Minister of Health, Prof. Adenike Grange who was represented by the Minister of State for Health, Chief Gabriel Aduku, an architect, said a great need exist for rallying support to NIPRD for new drug discovery and development. He emphasised that the institute’s scientists have participated in the discovery and development of new phyto-pharmaceutical that is currently being marketed and are working on more drugs for diabetes, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and ulcer amongst others. He further explained that NIPRD has a well developed capacity and valued national and international partnership with highly respected organisations like the National Institute of Health (NIH). Aduku told the audience that the institute has the intellectual capacity and expertise to manage their projects coupled with strong and dedicated team of researchers.
“There are potential social, political and economic benefits that a country derives from pharmaceutical research and development such as establishment of high value added, high technology sector and industry diversification; contribution to economic growth and trade surplus; development and commercialisation of public sector research; high quality jobs; reduction in brain drain; contribution to the global public good and improved healthcare through access to newer medicines amongst others,” the minister stressed.
Aduku therefore appealed to Nigerian pharmaceutical businessmen, international investors and other interested individuals to come and invest in the establishment of chemical industry for the production of pharmaceutical (chemicals) ingredients for drugs. He said this could be in the spirit of the new policy on public private partnership (PPP) or any other arrangement to be negotiated and agreed with the government.
“We cannot continue to depend on imported finished pharmaceutical products and 100 per cent of API any more. NIPRD must be encouraged to research and develop pharmaceutical raw materials. Its work on the development of microcrystalline cellulose for use as an incipient in drug manufacturing in partnership with Howard University is highly commendable and represents a step in the right direction.
“The institute has over the years nurtured and developed useful innovative and rewarding partnership with research scientists at the national and international level. Their international partners have brought some rear expertise, needed technologies and other research facilities that they could not easily acquire with their level of funding. These partnerships, I am told are working hard to produce new drugs for the treatment and management HIV/AIDS, tuberculoses and diabetes amongst others,” Aduku said.
Dr. Anthony Okam, the immediate past chairman of the governing board of the institute said under his leadership NIPRD currently has about seven compounds in the pipeline for development as antiviral agent. He said the research is going on at the institute and at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland, USA with some senior scientist from NIPRD as member of the team.
He further said that the institute has also eleven compounds in the pipeline for development as anti-tuberculosis drugs in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) of the National Institute of Health, USA. In addition, Okam stressed that a potent anti-diabetic agent developed by NIPRD is in phase II clinical trial and may soon hit the local market. The institute, according to the former chairman NICOSAN, an anti-sickling phyto-pharmaceutical agent developed by NIPRD for the management of sickle cell disease had been licensed out and is currently being produced and marketed by Xechem Pharmaceutical Nigerian Limited, Sheda, Abuja.
“Just last month, we concluded preclinical studies on an immunostimulant and antifungal cream which would be used for the management of fungal skin disease and for HIV/AIDS. NIPRD is the first public research institute to extract Artemisin from locally grown Artemisia annua.
“To move on comfortably and with a great measure of assurance for success, change will be needed to tackle the challenges ahead of the institute. We need a change in our funding mechanisms and sources of funds; we will need to upgrade the R&D technology at NIPRD. The institute has achieved a great measure of success so far because it has prioritised its research needs and have used the scarce resources given to it in the most optimal way,” he said.
The former board chairman therefore appealed to the Federal Government to establish a special research grant support for drugs discovery and development domiciled at NIPRD. He said the funds would be used for infrastructure upgrade, equipment, high quality supplies and consumables and personnel exchange in collaborating institutions abroad. The funds in no small measure, Okam said would enhance the institutes ability to strengthen and sustain R&D of new drugs and capacity development amongst others.
According to investigation, in 1990, the Commission on Health Research for Development recommended that governments of developing countries should spend two per cent of their health budget on health research and that donor countries should spend five per cent of their aids for health on developing countries health research and the strengthening of research capacity. Unfortunately, Okam said Nigeria has never implemented this recommendation neither have they given up to five per cent of the Ministry of Health allocation to health research.
The institute’s director general told THISDAY at the commissioning of the laboratory blocks that as apart of its efforts to ensure the availability of safe and efficacious drugs in the country, “we are involved in post-market surveillance, bioavailability, bioequivalence and stability studies of imported and locally produced drugs. We have conducted prevalence studies on fake and sub-standard antibiotics, multivitamins, anti-effective and anti-hypertensive in Nigerian market.
“One of our studies indicated that the prevalence of fake and substandard ampicilin/cloxacillin preparations in the country has dropped by up to 50 per cent when compared with the rate in the mid 1990s. We have used our expertise in this area to offer drug and food quality control services to over 20 private and public organisations including FCDA central medical stores, Taraba and Kogi States essential drug services, Shell Petroleum Development Company amongst others,” Inyang said.
He added that in view of the new strategy for malaria and subsequent influx of various ACT preparations into the market as well as the availability of different brands and combinations of ARVs. The institute, he further said has an ongoing programme to assess the BA/BE and stability profile of these preparations in Nigerian population.
In 2005, NIPRD won a research grant in vitro anti-malarial screening on extracts and ingredients from Nigerian medicinal plants. WHO-TDR has now created a phytochemistry repository in the institute to receive and store medicinal plant extracts and ingredients for antimalarial and other disease screening. Over 100 samples have received and stored. A database has been developed for the repository.
In as much as the institute tries to perform its responsibilities, there are numerous challenges, especially in the commercialising research results in the pharmaceutical sector of health. “While the state of the economy makes it imperative for it to commercialise its results, it is paradoxically a potential obstacle as the poor economy and attendant lack of adequate infrastructure, poor industrial capacity utilisation and result of backward integration thus reducing the chances of commercialising research results. This should however deter us from pursuing the noble goal,” the DG said.
Inyang identified delivery time a crucial factor in the commercialisation process. For example, he said if a line is down due to some process or material problems, no one will wait indefinitely for results of the research on the problem. He said that this is so because every minute lost is valuable money for the industry. However, due to poor funding of public sector institutions like NIPRD, they cannot work at the speed required to provide the pharmaceutical grade starch required for industry.
“Subsequent pressure by the industry on government on the effects of the ban on certain products results in reversal of some policies. This made the positive achievements in the research and development of PGS (though partial) useless and discouraged to various researchers involved. It is therefore obvious that it is important to provide ample funds that should be promptly released to ensure that these projects are useful and delivered in good time,” Inyang said.
Added to the challenges are the inconsistent government policies on raw materials. The NIPRD boss said that it is quite difficult to have a long term strategy for the development of commercialisable raw materials. He said if government policies do not remain stable, there seems to be no change with the budget each year.
Though it appears the problems are daunting, Inyang said the prospects of commercialising research results in Nigeria are enormous as the returns are rich. He however said that it is doable.
The answer is that IF the plan is adopted then we will receive a pro-rated share of 10% of the 'new' shares of the reorganized company.
US-based Liberian Launches Sickle Cell Foundation
Publication Date: November 13, 2009 - 6:08am
Updated: November 14, 2009 - 9:46pm
News Section:Community News
Estella Wehye, head of the Sickle Cell Foundation for Liberia
By: Alaskai Moore Johnson, Health Correspondent
A group of Liberian women led by Estella Wehye, under the banner, “Dynamic Women Organization of Delaware Valley” based in the United States of America, is expected today to launch a sickle cell foundation in the United States of America.
A dispatch from the U.S. says the Sickle Cell Foundation for Liberia will feature as guest speaker a renowned medical doctor, Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong, MD of Children Hospital in the US state of Philadelphia.
According to a release, the event will showcase some US-based Liberian musicians, including the famous Zay Tete and one of the Delaware Valley’s best DJs who will keep the audience on their toes all night, the organizers said.
The ceremony will be held at the Foster Military Lodge of Willingboro, New Jersey in the USA.
0Copyright Liberian Observer - All Rights Reserved. This article cannot be re-published without the expressed, written consent of the Liberian Observer. Please contact us for more information or to request publishing permission.
http://www.liberianobserver.com/node/2921
This was today...
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
- NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS -
THE HONORABLE JACK SCHMETTERER, PRESIDING
LOCATION: COURTROOM 682
EASTERN DIVISION
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Updated 11/17/2009 @ 07:53:PM CST
1:30 PM
08bk30512
This[238]
Orig[212] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Notice of Motion and Application to Employ Basu Capital LLC as Capital Finder Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Xechem, Inc. et al..
OMG, Look Out! Duck! Collectively their heads are about to burst!
I'm not as astute as clrmng and Fiat.
It would seem that for XI to have any value, it must be tied to XN, AND XN must have the license for Nicosan. I would expect that the cart will not be put in front of the horse unless there are some silly folk fiddling around lol
That Ms. Lorber appears as one sharp woman to me. Not that I know a lot about such things (or even anything). Still, the document reads and flows well and clear and imo will have an impact (docket 229). The next four weeks may be quite exciting I suppose.
Thanks for this clarification. I was reading through that and got all x-eyed. Not an easy read... for me anyway lol ~
The impression I had was that under Monty's (our) plan existing XI shares would not be cancelled. It seems to read differently in paragraph 5.2b and 5.6 in Docket 235 ... what am I misunderstanding?
And while they have no clue, WE know who is winning! lol
Also see that the battle between FIAT vs CLRMNG is still going on....hehehe
Steve, check post #199501 by Eli http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=43461330
where he presents this link http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=1526029&da=y
Read the first dozen or so pages, and the email from Biggs to Burg which you will find almost at the end. You will enjoy this imo... ~ Steve
Quite the 'read', and the letter from Biggs tells all imo. Thanks for posting this.
UIC gets $2M grant to study sickle cell disease
Associated Press
November 04, 2009
CHICAGO - The University of Illinois-Chicago has received a $2 million federal grant to research chronic pain experienced by patients with sickle cell disease.
The school announced the grant and planned research on Tuesday. The school says researchers will try to find out why sickle cell patients have chronic pain and try to develop medicines to treat the pain.
Associate professor Z. Jim Wang is lead researcher for the four-year study. Wang says the neurobiology of pain in sickle cell disease is poorly understood.
According to the university, more than 70,000 Americans are affected by sickle cell disease, which can damage lung tissue and cause excruciating pain and stroke.
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/nov/04/health/chi-ap-il-sicklecellgrant
I agree... certainly seems timely imo...
A Sickle Cell Remedy: Why are Firms Holding up Production?
This is from April 2009
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a disease that I have personally been affected by. I lost a very close friend to the disease and like many Nigerians, I know people who either suffer from the disease, or due to Nigerian law, cannot marry the one they love because either is a genetic carrier of the the disease. Given these realities, I was ecstatic to learn of a remedy to SCD that was discovered in Nigeria but upon further research, I have more questions than answers.
An Indigenous Remedy for Sickle Cell
A family in Nigeria knew of an indigenous remedy for sickle cell anemia - a disease suffered by at least 12 million people, with 70% of them residing in Africa. The family shared their recipe with Nigeria's National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) which in turn developed a drug called Niprisan. Niprisan was officially launched by former President Obasanjo in 1996. Amid controversy, NIPRD sold the rights to develop Niprisan to the Nigerian subsidiary of an American company – Xechem International, in 2003, with an understanding that the drug, marketed as Nicosan, would be manufactured in Nigeria.
A Corruption Scandal
Unfortunately, Xechem Nigeria became mired in corruption scandals. Its state-owned partner, Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO), which was created by the Nigerian government to "help Xechem Nigeria produce and commercialize Nicosan", was also accused of fraud to the tune of N400 million in public funds. Xechem Nigeria's parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2008. In addition, company shareholders have leveled the following complaints,"...that the company ... failed for 12 months to retrieve from customs in Lagos US$4.3 million in new equipment purchased for Xechem's manufacturing facility in Abuja and US$2 million in equipment removed from Xechem's former facility in New Brunswick, New Jersey.[that] [t]here had been "no movement on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals in 16 months; ...the termination of planned clinical trials for Xechem's sole marketable product, Nicosan; and numerous allegations against the managing director of Xechem Nigeria".
My Thoughts
It remains amazing to me that in this day and age, we are yet to fully conquer SCD. So, when I learned that there was a cure that came from Nigeria and from indigenous herbs in the form of Nicosan, I excitedly wanted to learn everything I could about it and share that information with anyone willing to listen. To then discover via research that after years over 10 years, Nicosan is still not reaching enough of the people who need it, was disappointing. To also learn that the companies charged with producing the drug - Xechem Nigeria and SHESTCO - were facing charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was even more disheartening.
Assuming that Nicosan works, it has the potential to transform the lives of millions of sufferers not only in Nigeria, but indeed around the world. Why is there a holdup in production, and information about this medicine?
For a country like Nigeria which is obviously concerned with transforming its international image, Nicosan presents an excellent opportunity to present the country as a nation of scientific achievement and one that can change the lives of millions of SCD sufferers the world over. Why this golden opportunity has not been exploited is beyond me, but it is not too late. Sadly, the fact that the drug is riddled in controversy and that no clear information is readily available about the government's plans for the drug, other than that it will now temporarily manufacture the drug, only reinforces the many negative stereotypes Nigeria faces. This is unfortunate, and I hope that in the weeks to come, Nigerians and others hoping for more news, will learn more about this drug.
Considering that President Yar'Adua is concerned with the "need to present an optimistic outlook, renew the national spirit, and reinvigorate [citizen's] faith in Nigeria," Nicosan could be the wonder drug that families are desperately looking for and that the Nigerian psyche needs.
The successful manufacture and use of this drug would instill national pride and optimism. It would elevate the level of trust and respect for the Federal Government that is currently lacking. Additionally, a thorough investigation into the missing N400 million that Xechem Nigeria and SHESTCO are accused of stealing would remind Nigerians that nobody is above the law and no person or organization will avoid justice, if necessary.
Nicosan presents an opportunity for Nigeria to do something incredible - tomass manufacture a local remedy to a disease that takes lives. Such an accomplishment would be positive and would be one of many ways to transform Nigeria's negative international image while coincidentally instilling pride in Nigerians. But even more importantly, it would save lives.
I can only hope that Nicosan will prove to be the wonder drug that sickle cell sufferers and Nigeria needs.
By Solomon Sydelle
http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=4273
It appears that I should point out that...
... I did not write the contents of my post 'Nicosan Rising' although it does reflect my sentiment(s). The post was written by Vixen of the blog "Sickle Cell Can Kiss My A**!!!: ", referenced by the link at the bottom of my post. I simply brought this to 'our' attention because I feel it is relevant.
The most significant news we have is that Nicosan is about the be produced again, under the oversight of NIPRD with a team who (I suspect) have a pretty good handle on what needs to be done to do it right. No question Monty has played a huge part in bringing this into reality. His efforts and those of the teams working in the direction of reviving Nicosan are about to have an enormous impact on the quality of living of many many people. God Speed Sir Forthun.
Nicosan Rising
Friday, October 30, 2009
Nicosan Rising
Okay, so ever since I wrote the Nicosan Woes post, I've gotten several people wanting to know what's the new scoop on Xechem. I've kept my ears to the ground, and after emailing a few great Nicosan friends and supporters, have found out that things seem to be looking better and brighter for Nicosan. I won't go into too much detail on the particulars, since I don't want to jinx anything, but here is the word on the streets...
Although the company Xechem did file for bankruptcy in 2008; the formula for Nicosan doesn't belong to Xechem, it belongs to NIPRD (which is the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development). Anyway, due to the instability of Xechem in 2008, NIPRD revoked the production license of Nicosan through Xechem.
The factory is still intact however, and several awesome and passionate people have been working around the clock for the last couple of months trying to get everything squared away on the financial and legal front so that production can start again.
Alot of investors are needed to financially back the new management that took over Xechem and this is one of the holdups. However, once the money part is squared away, NIPRD should be giving the license back to the new Xechem (and I'm not sure if it's going to be called Xechem any longer), once the new management has proven that they are capable of running the company and Nicosan the way it's supposed to be run.
The good news is that the people at the helm now are dedicated and absolutely determined to get Nicosan back on the market as fast as possible, and even continue the process to getting it approved in the US. One of the original scientists who helped in developing the formula is also back in the picture, and I know that the company is going in the right direction---finally!
This has eased alot of my anxiety, just knowing that the transition is occurring and the process is moving forward. We still need your prayers and support to get the final kinks worked out in Nigeria with all the stakeholders involved. And of course, if anyone would like information in investing towards Nicosan, I can lead you to the right people.
If anyone has any other information, questions or contributions, please leave a comment or shoot me an email.
http://sicklecellblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/nicosan-rising.html
Congratulations Monty!
I say that because NIPRD has asked me to manage the sales/marketing duties during the interim period.
It is truly amazing what Swift and Associates have managed to do, both directly and indirectly. ... Unfortunately it is all sad and destructive for the great majority affected. Miracles do happen, every day and in every moment ... the suffering WILL end imo.
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
- NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS -
THE HONORABLE JACK SCHMETTERER, PRESIDING
LOCATION: COURTROOM 682
EASTERN DIVISION
Monday, November 09, 2009
Updated 10/27/2009 @ 07:23:PM CST
11:00 AM
08bk30513
This[179] XECHEM INTERNATIONAL, INC. CH. 11
Order Scheduling . Hearing continued on 11/9/2009 at 11:00AM at 219 South Dearborn, Courtroom 682, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Signed on 10/22/2009 (Walker, Valerie)
08bk30512
This[228] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Agreed Order Rescheduling The Creditors Commitee's Objection to Claim No.57-1 of Ramesh Pandey. Hearing continued on 11/9/2009 at 11:00AM at 219 South Dearborn, Courtroom 682, Chicago, Illinois 60604. The hearing scheduled on October 22, 2009 at11:30 a.m. is hereby stricken. Signed on 10/22/2009 (Roman, Felipe)
08bk30513
This[168]
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.
08bk30513
This[168]
Orig[74] XECHEM INTERNATIONAL, INC. CH. 11
Notice of Hearing and Objection to Claim(s) 25 Filed by Douglas S Draper on behalf of XECHEM International, Inc..
08bk30513
This[168]
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.
08bk30513
This[168]
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..
08bk30512
This[219]
Orig[211] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Notice of Motion and Motion to Compel Col. Bhuwan Pandey to Produce Documents Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Xechem, Inc. et al..
08bk30512
This[219]
Orig[212] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Notice of Motion and Application to Employ Basu Capital LLC as Capital Finder Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Xechem, Inc. et al..
08bk30512
This[220] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Status Hearing Hearing Continued . Status hearing
08bk30512
This[223]
Orig[211] XECHEM INC CH. 11
Notice of Motion and Motion to Compel Col. Bhuwan Pandey to Produce Documents Filed by Robert E Richards on behalf of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Xechem, Inc. et al..
From your lips to God's ears...
A similar story will be told of how Monty saved SCD victims from Dr. Swift's management of XKEM Nigeria.
Good find, and yes, Dr. Pandey's 'foot-in' wrt diabetes and NIPRD could be a significant positive... thanks for posting.
TGIF XGEMQ
Red grape skin extract could be new treatment for sickle cell disease patients
Contact: Amy Connell
aconnell@mcg.edu
706-721-8605
Medical College of Georgia
Public release date: 22-Oct-2009
IMAGE: Davies Agyekum, a second-year Ph.D. student in the MCG School of Graduate Studies, received a three- to five-year $15,000 scholarship from the Southern Regional Education Board for his sickle cell disease research.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – An extract in red grape skin may be a new treatment for sickle cell disease, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.
The extract, resveratrol, a natural chemical typically found in red wine and various plants and fruits, has been found to induce production of fetal hemoglobin, which decreases the sickling of red blood cells and reduces the painful vascular episodes associated with the disease.
Most fetal hemoglobin production ceases after birth, but in patients where it remains the predominant form, it can result in fewer complications, says Davies Agyekum, a second-year Ph.D. student in the MCG School of Graduate Studies.
In sickle cell disease, abnormal hemoglobin causes red blood cells to sickle. The abnormal shape impedes blood's passage through vessels and can cause excruciating pain and other complications because of the blood's oxygen deficiency.
Davies is working with Dr. Steffen E. Meiler, vice chair of research for the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, on an eight-week animal study to determine if the combined anti-inflammatory and fetal hemoglobin-producing properties of resveratrol, a dietary polyphenol, can reduce the severity of sickle cell disease.
Hydroxyurea, an anti-cancer agent and the only Food and Drug Administration-approved therapeutic drug for sickle cell disease, increases fetal hemoglobin. Davies says reseveratrol-based therapy might be easier on patients.
The Ghana native recently received a three- to five-year $15,000 scholarship from the Southern Regional Education Board State Doctoral Scholars Program, a program aimed at increasing the number of minority students who earn doctoral degrees and become college and university professors.
He is attending the organization's annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring in Arlington, Va., today through Oct. 25, to learn success skills and prepare for a university-level teaching position.
"My ultimate career goal is to be in position where I can inspire future generation through teaching and mentoring, so I am ecstatic about the opportunity this scholarship presents," Davies says.
###
Davies earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Ga., and hopes to stay in Georgia to teach.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/mcog-rgs102209.php
GlycoMimetics, Inc. Attracts $38 Million in Latest Venture Round
Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:30pm EDT
Genzyme Ventures joins syndicate of investors funding Phase 2 clinical programs
GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(Business Wire)--
GlycoMimetics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a new
class of glycobiology-based therapies for a broad range of indications, today
announced the company has raised $38 million in its latest round of venture
financing. New investor Genzyme Ventures joined returning investors New
Enterprise Associates, The Novartis Venture Fund, Anthem Capital and Alliance
Technology Ventures in the round.
"We`re delighted to add Genzyme Ventures to our top-tier syndicate of returning
investors," said Rachel King, CEO of GlycoMimetics. "Genzyme`s participation
represents a strong vote of confidence in our pipeline of novel therapeutics,
and we stand to benefit from their expertise in orphan and hematologic drug
development as we advance our sickle cell program."
The new investment will be used to fund a Phase 2 trial of GlycoMimetics` lead
drug candidate GMI-1070 in vaso-occlusive crisis of sickle cell disease. The
company also intends to use proceeds to fund a Phase 2 study of GMI-1070 in a
second clinical indication.
"GlycoMimetics has made excellent progress in the discovery and development of
new glycobiology-based medicines. We`re very excited about GlycoMimetics` sickle
cell program, as well as other pipeline opportunities, and we`re pleased to be
participating in this financing," said Alan Walts, Managing Director of Genzyme
Ventures.
"GlycoMimetics is a lean, focused company, and we`re very encouraged by their
progress," said Jim Barrett, General Partner of New Enterprise Associates, which
has led each of the Company`s investment rounds. "We remain confident in both
the management team and the scientific programs."
About GMI-1070
Glycomimetics' lead compound, GMI-1070, is a rationally-designed glycomimetic
inhibitor of E-, P- and L-selectins, and inhibits a key early step in the
inflammatory process leading to leukocyte adhesion and recruitment to inflamed
tissue. GMI-1070 has been shown to be active in several models of diseases in
which leukocyte adhesion and activation play a key role, including
vaso-occlusive crisis of sickle cell disease. By inhibiting selectin
interactions, GMI-1070 may be able to decrease the enhanced cell adhesion that
results in vaso-occlusive crisis. In preclinical studies, GMI-1070 restored
blood flow to affected vessels of sickle cell animals experiencing
vaso-occlusive crisis. GMI-1070 is also being evaluated in preclinical studies
for the treatment of certain hematologic cancers, where selectin-mediated cell
adhesion and migration is known to play a key role in the disease process.
Initiation of Phase 2 clinical trials of GMI-1070 in sickle cell disease is
planned in early 2010.
About Sickle Cell Disease and Vaso-Occlusive Crisis
Vaso-occlusive crisis is the main clinical feature of sickle cell disease, often
resulting in significant patient complications, and sometimes death. Currently,
there are no mechanism-based therapies for treatment of vaso-occlusive crisis.
Treatment consists primarily of supportive therapy in the form of hydration and
pain control, typically requiring hospitalization for five to six days. There
are over 75,000 hospitalizations per year associated with vaso-occlusive crisis
in the U.S.
About GlycoMimetics, Inc.
GlycoMimetics is a privately held biotechnology company that capitalizes on
advances in the field of glycobiology. The company uses rational design of small
molecule drugs that mimic the functions of bioactive carbohydrates to develop
new drug candidates. The company's initial focus is on therapeutics to treat
inflammation, cancer, and infectious diseases. For additional information,
please visit the company's web site: http://www.glycomimetics.com.
GlycoMimetics, Inc. (GMI)
Andrew Barrett, 240-243-1220
Copyright Business Wire 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS232682+20-Oct-2009+BW20091020
York woman heads to White House
Dominique Friend is raising awareness about sickle cell anemia.
By ANGIE MASON
Updated: 10/17/2009 04:42:28 PM EDT
A York woman will visit the White House on Monday in a quest to raise awareness about sickle cell anemia.
Dominique Friend, who suffers from the genetic blood disorder and has written a book about the subject, will be traveling to Washington, D.C., with Sonya Toler, executive director of the Governor's Advisory Commission on African American Affairs.
"To be able to go as a sickle cell patient and express what I live with on a daily basis is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity," Friend, 39, said.
A White House spokeswoman confirmed in an e-mail that Friend would be meeting with an aide in the Office of Public Engagement, which holds meetings with constituents to talk about their concerns.
Friend said she hopes to discuss the need for national standards of care related to sickle cell. Now, she said, hospitals in different parts of the country have different treatments if a sickle cell patient comes in.
"When you go to any emergency room anywhere in the U.S. with a heart attack, there's a certain protocol they all will do, anywhere in any hospital," she said. "Sickle cell disease is not like that."
Toler said they will also discuss issues such as the need for more doctors to study blood disorders such as sickle cell.
"It is a very debilitating disease," she said, noting that it doesn't just affect African Americans, but Asians, Hispanics and others as well.
The commission has been working to raise awareness about sickle cell for about a year and a half, Toler said, largely because of people like Friend.
"We're hoping to see some initiatives from the federal government saying sickle cell is a priority," she said.
Friend, who has written a book about her experience with the disorder, said it causes "indescribable" pain and difficulty talking and breathing.
She is working to start a foundation to help people with sickle cell but is still working to obtain nonprofit 501c3 status. She was scheduled to hold a book signing event Friday night.
amason@ydr.com; 771-2048
http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_13584852
'Ayurveda can cure hepatitis, sickle cell & cancer too'
Snehlata Shrivastav , TNN 16 October 2009, 05:53am IST
NAGPUR: First signal that the chanting of the mantras and prayers at the Dhanwantari puja at Baidyanath Bhavan on Thursday evening that the audience
got was that it was a traditional religious programme and all those standing there with folded hands were believers of tradition.
But as the proceedings unfolded, gradually it turned out to be a gathering of some extremely knowledgeable teachers, researchers, practitioners, scientists, conservationists and experts of Ayurveda. These were experts and veterans in their own fields even at young ages. And that was the reason why Baidyanath was felicitating them.
One of them was a writer and publisher, the other a researcher, the third a retired government medical officer, fourth a government college teacher and the fifth a hardcore practitioner. But all of them are making a sizeable contribution in their own way to Ayurveda.
"Ayurveda Amratanam", believes B P Tamrakar, a professor of Ayurveda from Bhilai. He says that Ayurvedic medicines are like amrit or - and cure a disease completely by treating the root cause of the disease. Diseases like sickle cell, thalassemia, hepatitis B and E and even cancer, which remain a challenge for the Allopathic doctors, too can be treated and managed well with Ayurveda. Tamrakar says, "Ayurveda can cure sickle cell to about 90%, turn hepatitis B and E positive patients to negative and prolong the duration between blood transfusions required by a thalassemia patient. But this is possible with right integration of modern medicine with Ayurveda." He has treated 150 sickle cell patients, 70 hepatitis infections and is conducting research with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and College of Pharmacy, Delhi.
Tamrakar has no hesitation in admitting that modern diagnostic sciences like pathology and other investigative testing can be used to diagnose the disease. "I use Allopathy to diagnose the disease rightly, Ayurvedic medicine to treat the patient and selected diet to prevent diseases," he says.
Brahmanand Nayak, an MD in Ayurveda from Bangalore, has been bringing out a research journal, first and only one of its kind published from 12 countries simultaneously. "Medicine is a science and so is Ayurveda. But we have not been able to share this fact with the world. Though research in Ayurveda may be in infancy stage, evidence is fast pouring in on how the plant-based medicines work at molecular levels. I do the job of taking this evidence to the world," Nayak said.
Rajshree Kulkarni from Nashik is trying to prove in her own way that there is a science behind 'Garbha Sanskar'. She has authored a book on the subject and treats a pregnant woman from the first month to the delivery through Ayurveda. "We tell the would-be parents to talk to the child in the womb daily. It helps the baby's growth in right direction," she claims.
Rajesh Shukla, a retired medical officer from Sagar, strongly believes that medicinal plants should be preserved and grown in their natural environment without using any chemicals like fertilisers. This prevents the plant from absorbing any heavy metals.
Govind Asati, a teacher at government Ayurved College in city, holds the Ayurvedic practitioners and researchers responsible for the delay in required recognition to Ayurveda as a national system of medicine. "We have failed to take this science to even our own people in the right way," he says.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Ayurveda-can-cure-hepatitis-sickle-cell-cancer-too/articleshow/5129640.cms
Congratulations - to you and us ...
The four years worth of goods... potency of the raw product would be an issue as the dry goods get older, no?
And it would seem that a process using heat vs. cold extraction would, while faster, also be more damaging to the product.
Is the auto-encapsulator still kicking around customs? What about the other four plants in the equation... any of these available in stock? Years ago we had extensive discussion about the size of the buildings being constructed and how Xechem could possibly need all this 'space' ... glad to see this getting used.
Final comment is more of a concern... that apparently none of the cold extraction new process product made it to market. What does this mean to the reports of the substandard product being distributed and consumed and reported on by disapointed users?
It was a good day, Xechem and Nicosan became more real for me today. It was nice to see things instead of reading about them...
Thanks for your perserverance... wonderful read your post is...
Nigeria: Discoveries - Where are the Natural Product Drugs?
Roland Ogbonnaya
31 May 2009
This may have been posted before... Nicosan mentioned near the end... posted this because it references numerous other agencies.
Lagos — Local and international scientists, researchers, pharmacists and other stakeholders in natural and traditional health products converged on Abuja recently to showcase and give insight to their research efforts.
After the meeting, it was discovered that if most of the research results are produced into drugs and commercialised, Africa will no doubt meet half of its drugs need.
An article in a foreign journal sounded the danger alarm and the need for poor countries, including Nigeria and other African countries on the need to be self sufficient in drugs production. According to the report, there is a scramble among wealthy nations to guard against a swine-flu pandemic which was raising concerns that billions of people in poorer countries could be left without adequate supplies of vaccine.
It stated that an increasing number of Western countries are signing agreements with vaccine makers guaranteeing them a certain number of doses should a pandemic occur. By locking up the supply in advance, they are making it even tougher for poor countries to get access to the shots they would need, the journal quoted some critics.
Leaders from the World Health Organisation and the United Nations recently met with drug-company executives in Geneva, in part to hash out possible solutions to the vaccine problem. The emerging battle between the haves and have-nots underscores a major weakness in the global health system: pharmaceutical companies have severely limited capacity to produce flu vaccines in emergencies.
According to the report, the WHO estimates drug companies will be able to produce between one billion and two billion doses of vaccine a year for a pandemic, depending on how much active ingredient is needed per dose. That is far short of the world's population of 6.8 billion. Wealthy countries-including the UK, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria-have been moving quickly to snap up the available capacity, ordering enough shots to cover much of their populations.
For example, the UK said it has a four-year, 155.4 pound million ($236.62 million) contract with GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Baxter International Inc. that guarantees delivery of up to 132 million doses of vaccine. The Netherlands is also considering placing an advance order for 34 million doses, a spokeswoman for the country's health ministry said. The US government has taken a slightly different approach, cutting deals with drug companies to boost capacity.
This year alone, the US awarded Novartis AG $486 million toward the construction of a vaccine factory that will be able to produce 150 million doses within six months of a pandemic being declared-a deal that gives the US first dib on the vaccine, according to Andrin Oswald, Novartis's head of vaccines and diagnostics.
The WHO however, hasn't yet declared a swine-flu pandemic, nor have drug companies started producing pandemic vaccine in large quantities. Once they do, it will take four to six months for the first doses to become available. Meanwhile, developing nations are sounding alarms about their vulnerable position. In a recent statement, health ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam, said "access to effective pandemic vaccines is a major problem in this region," and called on the WHO for help.
WHO vaccine official Marie-Paule Kieny said the organisation is talking to vaccine manufacturers "to try to ensure access for developing countries." Anders Tegnell, a director of Sweden's national board of health and welfare, said Swedish officials discussed the ethics of the issue before signing an accord with Glaxo for pandemic vaccine.
"If we have advance purchase agreements or not, still the bulk of production will most likely go to rich countries, because that's the way the market works," he said. He said pandemic flu vaccines might not even be the best investment for poor countries, which are battling more pressing health problems, including HIV and malaria.
Drug companies have said they recognise the problem of getting vaccines to poorer nations. A Baxter spokesman said the company will "be taking our lead from global health authorities" about how to "manage multiple priorities." A Glaxo spokesman said the company is "absolutely committed" to providing pandemic vaccine to poor countries.
Glaxo recently said it plans to start producing a pre-pandemic vaccine against the current strain of the A/H1N1 virus causing the swine-flu outbreak. There is no guarantee this vaccine would work during a pandemic if the virus mutates significantly. Glaxo said it plans to donate 50 million doses of this pre-pandemic vaccine to the WHO for use in the developing world.
It is therefore disheartening when one sees efforts that are being by developed and some developing nations to produce their needed drugs and vaccines, while little or nothing is done by African countries, including Nigeria to develop and produce their vaccines and drugs even from readily available natural products. This is not due to lack of research results, waiting to be commercialised or as a resulted of lack of manpower and organisations to engage in this, but largely due to lack of or no political will at all on the part of governments. This is more evident in Nigeria.
The world has today recognised the power of research and development as the only way to development be it in medicine or any other field of endeavour. This is the reason why when President Barrack Obama administration came; he pledged an estimated $850 billion economic stimulus package with two per cent of this amount going to research and development in sciences.
Of the almost $16 billion appropriated to research and development (R&D), $9.9 billion will go toward the conduct of research and development (mainly basic research), $3.4 billion will fund R&D facilities and large research equipment, while $2.5 billion will go toward non-R&D, but science- and technology-related funding
Among the organisations receiving the most funding are the National Institute of Health ($3.6 billion), National Science Foundation ($3 billion), the Department of Energy's Office of Science ($2 billion), and the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology ($520 million).
Those who might lay the blame on the door step of researchers and scientist would want to eat their words after listening to efforts so far made by African scientists to see that enough drugs for various ailments are produced in Africa. The scientists and other stakeholders recently converged on Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory in a symposium that focused on the research continuum for natural product-based drug discovery. During the meeting, ideas and knowledge were shared with hope that international research partnerships will be developed or strengthened.
There were presentations by Nigeria's and the world's leading scientists engaged in natural product researches. The three-day event also surveyed research activities in Nigeria, explored the important link between natural product research and new drug discovery, and generated discussions focused on promising research opportunities.
The symposium also featured sessions on the scientific activities required to translate research finding into pharmaceutical products, including the requirements for ethical and definitive clinical trials. The conference was organised by the Federal Ministry of Health, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), United States Department of Health and Human Services and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, United States.
At the opening ceremony, the Minister of Health Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin said research and innovation are essential drivers for the development of any modern economy. Health research, he said is a core component of this and is crucial to solving health problems and optimising health system performance. The Global Forum for Health Research has long advocated the importance of domestic health research, sufficient resources and capacity strengthening in developing countries, the Minister said.
In its most recent report, it highlighted the continuing under resourcing of research applied to the needs of developing countries. It will be recalled that in 2007, African Union Heads of State strongly urged members to promote research, development and innovation by allocating at least one per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the national economies to this area b 2010. This Osotimehin said is meant to improve local technological and human capacity to address local health problems.
"Presently, we have not been able to develop effective National Health Research on Health. It is yet to be passed by the National Assembly. When the policy is approved, my ministry will certainly formulate an effective national Health research system that will articulate a vision for health research, address the five primary functions of a health system and goals of the health research system amongst others," he disclosed.
Osotimehin further explained that there are two major research institutes under his ministry. One is responsible for medical research and the other for pharmaceutical research and development. He said the two institutes are recognised as global leaders in their respective fields. "I am aware that NIPRD has developed a very successful research partnership with several national and international organisations that is consistent with the mandate setting it up," he added.
The minister commended the partnership between NIPRD and the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which started in 2002. He described it as a successful and viable partnership, adding that successful research partnerships emphasise shared intellectual leadership, transparency, shared vision and strategic plan with focused objectives and mutual respect and trust. This condition, he stressed were fulfilled when NIPRD scientists identified areas of potential collaboration with NIAID. He enumerated the successes of the NIPRD and NIAID partnerships which span from anti-tuberculosis activity to employment of a biomedical engineer.
He pledged that his ministry will, as a matter of deliberate National Policy take responsibility to put in place and resource a basic natural health research system that will provide mechanism for research governance, which will guide, prioritise, manage and translate research into action.
He said "in addition to this, we will provide support to productive public research institutions, universities and non-governmental organisations, to foster and facilitate the discovery and development of phytomedicines novel drugs and other health interventions for diseases endemic in our region. We will also hold consultations with the local pharmaceutical industries to assess their needs and evolve an effective regime of incentives that will encourage them to partner with R&D institutions for product development."
In an opening remark, US Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin R. Sanders said in the past five years, her government has partnered with the Nigerian government to help support scientific research and laboratory enhancements to address TB through natural product research in Nigeria. The US Government, she said has made a significant contribution towards developing and equipping the Biology and Chemistry Laboratory at the NIPRD. "It is a great credit to the leadership of NIPRD and the Ministry of Health that this laboratory, which I had the opportunity to commission last year along with Nigerian health organisation, is now a vital centre for biomedical research and training in Nigeria and for the entire West Africa.
"As you know, tuberculosis causes a heavy burden on the people in Nigeria' and new therapeutic drugs are urgently needed. NIH and NIPRD scientists have been engaged in joint research to test the efficacy of remedies for TB that are used by traditional healers meaning really going back to nature to find the solutions to some of our most pressing medical challenges.
"The foundation of this cooperation is the shared interest our scientists in mutually beneficial research. We are also exploring other ways to continue our cooperation particularly on multi-drug resistant TB. We want to encourage the Nigerian government to support these research affairs through counterpart funding with your partners like the US," Sanders said.
In an overview of NIPRD research and development activities/capabilities in phytomedicine, Dr. Ufford Inyang, who is the director general and chief executive officer of the institute, said it has made impact in the provision of research and development support for the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector especially, in the area of raw material sourcing and development, provision of support in the discovery and development of new healthcare product in Nigeria as well as engagement in the development of herbal drugs sourced from the country's diverse flora.
He said the long term goals of the institute is also to provide raw materials required by the pharmaceutical industry, development of medicinal products for the treatment and management of Nigeria's priority diseases: HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, Diabetes and sickle cell disease as well as the production of diagnostic kits for HIV leading to the reduction in importation and substantial saving of foreign exchange.
Other goals include ensuring that Nigerians have access to good quality drugs by providing quality assurance laboratory services and creating a database accessible to the nation's healthcare providers and building local capacity for the synthesis of first line anti-retroviral and anti-malarial agents.
Inyang told his audience that one of the departments of his institutes has made tremendous achievements in the area of plant medicine being developed as immune-booster, the pharmacognosy and phytochemical characteristics of a number of herbal medicines including AM1(an anti-malarial product), AF1 have been established, the biologically active principles of a number of herbal extracts have been obtained through fractionation, while essential oils have been obtained from some aromatic and medicinal plants for R&D purposes.
He further explained that herbarium samples of 1,204 medicinal plants belonging to 703 species and 109 families have been prepared and preserved for reference, while a large amount of ethnobotanical information has been documented.
Making his incisive presentation at the occasion, Mr. T. F Okujagu, director-general and chief executive Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) in the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology said based on the background of work done at the Children's Hospital, Philadelphia (CHOP) and other researches, NIPRISAN, one of the drugs developed in Nigeria, was granted an Orphan Drug status by the US-Federal Drugs Agency on August 15th, 2003.
Okujagu said this was a major breakthrough for the Ministry of Science and Technology under which the institute achieved this feat. This is more so that the Orphan Drug status has added credibility and international acceptability to NICOSANTM (NIPRISAN) as a potent drug for the management of SCD.
To ensure its wide-scale production and commercialisation, he said the FMST made available its Chemistry Advanced Laboratory located in its facility at the Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO) to Xechem Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of Xechem International, which was incorporated in 2002 and have been granted the exclusive rights for development, production and marketing of NICOSANTM
Apart from this milestone, he said the agency focuses on developing appropriate low cost production, packaging and processing technology for small scale herbal medicine production and commercialisation as a foundation for establishing large-scale evidence bases for most of indigenous medicines. This is further intended to stimulate economic growth while serving as an impetus for generating the needed data for rational drug design. The NNMDA boss said both the data and economic/infrastructural output from this approach will serve as feedstock for a fledgling drug discovery industry in Nigeria.
Speaking earlier on synergism in drug discovery through regional private sector participation, the President and CEO of LaGray Chemical Company, Nsawam in Ghana, Paul Lartey said that major pharmaceutical companies invest heavily in R&D with the goal of being the first to commercialise the next drug in therapeutic area. He said the value of such companies lies in the intellectual property they own and the number of innovative drugs in their drugs development pipeline.
Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, the CEO of Neimeth Nigeria Limited in his presentation, explained the seamless gulf that has existed between researchers and pharmaceutical companies. He said pharmaceutical companies have not been able to work with researchers in turning their findings to real drugs, because of lack of the huge amount of money required to take up such projects as well as a gulf in communication between the two. He said that banks need to come in with adequate funding when there is such a research result that needs to produce into commercial drug.
According to Inyang and other experts who were at the workshop, Nigeria as well as other African countries needs to wake up if they yarn to meet half of the drug requirement of their respective countries
http://allafrica.com/stories/200906010274.html?viewall=1