As the world continued to battle with
efforts aimed at finding cure to HIV/AIDS,
the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) has announced another
breakthrough in the treatment of the
disease with the discovery of an oral
botanical drug, Crofelemer.
The new drug is the second botanical,
and an orally administered drug to be
approved by FDA since 2006.
The latest breakthrough owes its
success to a pioneering research carried
out in the United States by a team of
scientists including Nigeria’s Professor
Maurice Iwu, an acclaimed
pharmacologist and tropical medicine
expert.
Prof. Maurice Iwu
The first botanical drug to be approved
in the United States was a topical green
tea extract, Veregen, in 2006. Both
botanical drugs meet all US
pharmaceutical requirements and can be
dispensed only by prescription.
However, ‘’Crofelemer is the first drug to
be approved in the United States to treat
HIV -associated diarrhea. It is derived
from the latex of the South American
sangre de drago tree (dragon’s blood,
Croton lechleri). A red, blood-resembling
latex leaks from the tree when its bark is
cut, and it is this substance that contains
the novel polymolecular structure
crofelemer, originally developed and
standardized by Shaman
Pharmaceuticals. Fulyzag is the second
botanical drug approved by the agency.
The drug’s approval marks an important
event in the decades-long history of
crofelemer.’’
The latest ‘’Healthnews,’’ in a report
entitled, ‘’Nigeria’s Maurice Iwu, others
record breakthrough in HIV/AIDS
treatment: Amazon tree-derived
medicine cleared for usage in HIV
patients with diarrhea,’’ stated, ‘’On New
Year’s Eve of 2012, the US Food and Drug
Administration announced its approval
of crofelemer, marking the second time a
botanical, and the first time an orally
administered botanical, has received
drug approval from the Administration.
The first botanical drug to be approved
in the United States was a topical green
tea extract, Veregen in 2006. Both
botanical drugs meet all US
pharmaceutical requirements and can be
dispensed only by prescription.
’’The latest breakthrough owes its
success to a pioneering research carried
out in the United States by a team of
scientists which included Nigeria’s
Professor Maurice Iwu, an acclaimed
pharmacologist and tropical medicine
expert.http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/01/nigerias-maurice-iwu-others-record-breakthrough-in-hivaids-treatment/