…Says $2m required for large scale production
Chief Executive Officer of Bioresources Development Group, Professor Maurice M. Iwu, has assured Nigerians and the world at large that his plant-based medicine for the treatment of COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, may be available for use within the next few weeks, without compromising safety or regulatory requirements.
Pharmanewsonline reports that the scientist and Professor of Pharmacognosy noted that the plant-based treatment has lead compounds and chemically characterised fractions that have been active against more deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and other lesser known viruses, has shown promise against COVID- 19.
Iwu further stated that in a bid to expedite the availability of the revolutionary medicine for patients in Nigeria, he had met the three concerned ministers in Health, Science and Technology, to work out modalities for the product to be ready in a few weeks.
Responding to questions however, Iwu who also heads the Imo state emergency response committee on the prevention and control of COVID-19 described as sensational, reports saying there is a definite cure for COVID-19.
He said: “Please overlook the sensational reports. We do not have a “cure” yet; but we have lead compounds and chemically characterised fractions that are active against SARS- coronavirus that hold promise against COVID-19. It is still work in progress.”
According to him, COVID-19 is the least lethal of all the known coronaviruses. The candidate compound was found active against the more deadly SARS-coronavirus and other lesser known viruses. So far, it has been found active against four clinically important viruses.
He continued: “Luckily, the lead compound (BION -3) is one of the most studied natural products in history with a remarkable high safety profile. There are published reports on its pharmacokinetics profile and the putative mechanism of action are being reviewed.
“We intend to follow a dual track of developing an active pharmaceutical ingredient with all the phased clinical trials, and a phytomedicine which will be a combination product formulation containing the three agents (Rhygyfyn) contained in our patents.
Iwu acknowledged the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi and their teams for their efforts in containing the spread of the disease.
On the possiblity of deploying the medication now that Nigeria has confirmed cases of COVID-19, Professor Iwu said, “That is actually the reason for informing the relevant ministers in Health and Science and Technology. The product can actually be fast-tracked and ready in a few weeks, without compromising safety or regulatory requirements. Two of the source plants are already ingredients in a NAFDAC listed product as a tea (IHP –Detox Tea). But for this purpose, recalibration of dose and more appropriate dosage-form will be necessary.”
Hinting that funding may be a limitation to the large scale production and deployment of the medication, Iwu said that though he had working estimate, he had not worked out the figures to the last unit yet.
“We have not done the numbers yet. But because of the large scale processing equipment that will be required for a cGMP level production, we need about $2m (two million USD). The other limiting factor is the plant materials. We already operate four organic farms in different parts of Nigeria but the scale of raw materials that may be required may call for extensive cultivation by many out-growers on contract.
The International Centre for Ethnomedicine and Drug Development (Intercedd) at Nsukka can handle the single chemical entity candidate drug, while our cGMP level Bioprocessing Centre at Umuna-Okigwe, Imo State, will take care of the extraction and processing of biomass.
Source: Pharmanewsonline
