Nigeria to produce sickle cell anaemia drug
The drug will not only be consumed locally, but also exported to other countries

The Nigerian Export- Import Bank (NEXIM) has signed a financing agreement with the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) for the production of a sickle cell anaemia drug.

The Minister of State for Health, Muhammad Pate, and the Director of NIPRD, Karniyus Gamaniel, who both signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Robert Orya, NEXIM's Bank Managing Director, described the contract as a pacesetter for the production of Niprisan, a sickle cell drug.

Orya disclosed that the partnership will ensure that the drug is not only consumed locally, but also exported to other countries in demonstration of the bank’s concern for sickle cell patients and the need to minimise the scourge of sickle cell anemia in the country and in other parts of the world.

“This is a project that we are excited about because we have been committed to the resuscitation of this project...we will not just be aiming at the monetary gains, but also social gains for the country,” he said.

The Minister of State for Health said that an interministerial committee will be set up later this week to supervise the production of the drugs.

“There are millions of Nigerians who suffer sickle cell disease and at the same time, there are remedies that in many cases we will not be able to reach them.

“But we are fortunate now that a Nigerian product- Niprisan has been found effective at alleviating this and it’s as a result of the research that NIPRID had done,” Pate said.

The agreement would enable NEXIM provide funds for the commercial production of the sickle cell drug, which is to be made from four botanical species indigenous to Nigeria.

Source

Awesome

Resident Jonathanistans will milk this for all it's worth


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TqhT7XkJ6o

Still, a worthy accomplishment that should make every Nigerian proud.

Good move. I just hope our So-called leaders are not giving us this hopeless hope in order to loot our money again.

Clemzy16: Good move. I just hope our So-called leaders are not giving us this hopeless hope in order to loot our money again.

This people are plain mad and just want to embezzle money. What support have they given to proven drugs that work. 2 years from now, we won't hear of this project again.

Very positive and exciting news. More to come I hope, I wish them all the very best.

scam

blink182: This people are plain mad and just want to embezzle money. What support have they given to proven drugs that work. 2 years from now, we won't hear of this project again.

You have raised some valid concerns, but let's not throw the baby out of the bath water just yet.

There is absolutely nothing stopping you from constituting a watchdog to ensure this particular initiative does not go the same way as others.
Doing this, sir, will set you apart not only as one who engenders change in our society but also someone who takes his civic responsibilities seriously .

For some inspiration, just look at the pervasiveness of sickle-cell anaemia in Nigeria and the world beyond

Three quarters of sickle-cell cases occur in Africa. A recent WHO report estimated that around 2% of newborns in Nigeria were affected by sickle cell anaemia, giving a total of 150,000 affected children born every year in Nigeria alone. The carrier frequency ranges between 10% and 40% across equatorial Africa, decreasing to 1–2% on the north African coast and <1% in South Africa

Wiki Source

Hope this materializes !hope its not just another money laundering project by our thieving politicians

I am very impressed! I did a quick google search and found out this drug was developed in Nigeria, by Nigerian scientists, and it seemed to be recognized internationally. It was acquired by an American company and renamed Nicosan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicosan

All hail Naija ... The true Giant of Africa.

Br J Haematol. 2002 Jul;118(1):337-43.
In vitro effects of NIPRISAN (Nix-0699): a naturally occurring, potent antisickling agent.
Iyamu EW, Turner EA, Asakura T.
Source

Division of Hematology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. iyamu@email.chop.edu
Abstract

Among the various potential antisickling agents tested, hydroxyurea (HU) has been the most effective compound used for the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Although HU is effective in many patients, not all patients respond to this drug. In addition, some patients reveal adverse effects, including myelosuppression. In an attempt to find other effective agents with less adverse effects, we investigated the antisickling effect of NIPRISAN (Nix-0699). We found that Nix-0699, an ethanol/water extract from indigenous plants, has a strong antisickling effect. The concentration of Nix-0699 required to inhibit 50% of erythrocyte sickling was about 0.05 mg/ml. As for the kinetics of polymerization, addition of 0.05 microg/ml Nix-0699 caused a sixfold prolongation of the delay time prior to deoxy-Hb S polymerization when compared with that of untreated Hb S samples. The solubility of deoxy-Hb S significantly increased upon treatment with Nix-0699. Analysis of the effect of Nix-0699 on the Hb S oxygen affinity indicated that the drug slightly shifted the oxygen-dissociation curve of Hb S toward the left without any apparent change in the Hill coefficient. These results suggest that the antisickling properties of Nix-0699 may involve direct interaction with Hb molecules. Incubation of red blood cell (RBC) suspensions with various concentrations of Nix-0699 did not dehydrate RBCs, cause haemolysis, increase the amount of denatured Hb, nor form met-Hb. In view of the outcome of this study, Nix-0699 may be a promising option for the treatment of patients with SCD.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12100171
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0011393X01800394?via=sd&cc=y

Aizebioje: Hope this materializes !hope its not just another money laundering project by our thieving politicians

Wait a minute, you are the third commentator who has expressed some concern here.

Damn, the following excerpt does not inspire much confident either

In August 2002, Xechem International, an American company, acquired the exclusive world-wide rights to Niprisan (later re-named Nicosan/Hemoxin). On July 6, 2006 the drug was officially launched in Nigeria, with the President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, in attendance.

Source

Abi nah scam true, true?

I need a second opinion from someone involved in pharmaceutical industry.

Poison Poison Poison

BEWARE

Completely befuddled now.



NICOSAN™ is a non-toxic, Phyto-pharmaceutical, product for the treatment of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). NicosanTM is obtained from the mixture of four Nigerian plant materials e.g. Piper guineese (Seeds), Pterocarpus Osun (Stems), Eugenia caryophyllum (Fruits), Sorghum bicolor (Leaves), in a standard ratio which produce a hygroscopic, reddish-brown powder with a pungent odour.

In July, 2002, Xechem acquired exclusive worldwide license from the Ministry of Health, Federal Government of Nigeria to develop and market NICOSAN™ (HEMOXIN™ in the US).

NICOSAN™ (HEMOXIN™) was shown to be a safe and efficacious medicine for the management of patients with Sickle Cell Disease. As published in the May 2003 issue of the British Journal of Hematology, Dr.Toshio Asakura and colleagues from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), USA and the University of Pennsylvania demonstrated the anti-sickling effects of NICOSAN™ (HEMOXIN™) in transgenic mice.
Source

www.Xechem.com
Change of trading Symbol
On October 7, 2011, the ‘Q’ was removed from the trading symbol of XKEMQ.PK changing it to XKEM.PK. The "Q" designation is used to indicate reorganization under the Bankruptcy Code. On August 24, 2011, all right, title, and interest to any and all assets of Xechem International, Inc. (the “Company”) and Xechem, Inc. where sold at auction, including any and all right, title and interest to Xechem (India) Pvt. Limited and Xechem Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Limited. For further information, see case no. 08-30512 in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois (Eastern Division).

Xechem International, Inc. and Ministry of Health, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In July 2002 the Company formed Xechem Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Limited ("Xechem Nigeria". On July 18, 2002, the Company signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement (the “Agreement”) with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (Federal Ministry of Health) the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for the manufacture, marketing, distribution and sales of NIPRISAN(TM), a botanical (the “Botanical”) for the treatment of Sickle Cell Disease. The Minister of Health, A.B.C. Nwosu, signed the Agreement in his capacity as Minister of Health of Nigeria.

The Agreement stated there were “…related patents and foreign counterpart patents thereof, and totaling forty-six (46) patents world wide….”, and the Licensor warranted that “… LICENSED PATENTS are, each and every one, valid and enforceable in their respective jurisdictions, and that LICENSOR has maintained and shall maintain the validity and enforceability of the said PATENT RIGHTS for the term of this AGREEMENT.”

[b]Documents filed during the Bankruptcy proceedings of the Company disclosed licensed patents had been abandoned, and were no longer valid and enforceable, before the Agreement was signed on July 18, 2002, and therefore there were not “forty-six (46) patents world-wide” , as the Agreement stated, when the Agreement was signed on July 18, 2002. [/b]The Company paid licensing fees and royalty payments to the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, and the Company invested substantial sums of money in the development of the Botanical, all under written representations contained in the Agreement signed by The Minister of Health, A.B.C. Nwosu, in his capacity as Minister of Health of Nigeria.
Xechem International, Inc. and Xechem, Inc. Complete Chapter 7, all assets were sold at auction on August 24, 2011.

Gr8 if it finally works out

Right, matters are much clear now.

Sickle cell anaemia sufferers are appealing to Nigerian banks to take steps to allow production of a crucial drug to be resumed in the country.

One million sufferers from the painful genetic disease were said to have been benefiting from the drug, Nicosan (niprisan) for several years after a traditional treatment was brought into commercial production by the firm Xechem International.

But the factory closed nine months ago and now supplies are exhausted.

"This remedy changed my life," said Tosin Ola, a US-based advocate for sufferers from the disease, who had used the drug since 2007. She has written an open letter, for which she is collecting signatures, to three banks.

The Nigerian government withdrew Xechem's licence in 2009 and the government took over the company, which was then liquidated. There have since been several efforts by both Xechem and fresh investors to take over the company and recommence production.

Recently Xechem International filed US$25 million suit against the Nigerian government for withdrawing its licence, but a court dismissed the case.

The receivers also filed a suit trying to prevent the government from giving production rights to another company.

Karniyus Shingu Gamaniel, director general of NIPRD, which the government said last year would take over production, told SciDev.Net: "The minister has constituted a committee to resolve all the issues to ensure that when production resumes there will be no drawbacks.

"The committee is to look into all the court suits and counter suits and ensure it is all resolved and a competent company appointed to manage the production," he said. "This is a process that has to be carefully managed and hopefully in the next two to three months production may resume."

Source

Thumbs up to the Government for prosecuting this case to its logical conclusion!

What happened to the 2 previous drugs( CIKLAVIT and NICOSAN) that have been acknowledged to be effective in the management/treatment of sickle cell?

NicosanTM is obtained from the mixture of four Nigerian plant materials e.g. Piper guineese (Seeds), Pterocarpus Osun (Stems), Eugenia caryophyllum (Fruits), Sorghum bicolor (Leaves), in a standard ratio which produce a hygroscopic, reddish-brown powder with a pungent odour.

Fits the description for agbo!

These people are time wasters and they know the truth the truth about cellod-s in comparison to their drugs. It is all a sham. It really saddens me when a case as critical as SCD is mixed up with politics.

I did my industrial training @ NIPRD and I can vouch for the authenticity of this drug,if you care to know the N.I.H of the U.S.A are international partners of NIPRD. The institute still produces great research.

mikeapollo: What happened to the 2 previous drugs( CIKLAVIT and NICOSAN) that have been acknowledged to be effective in the management/treatment of sickle cell?

Niprisan is the same as Nicosan. Nicosan is however a commercial brand name used to sell the drug.

As a pharmacist, I hv recomended this drug (Nicosan) to patients and it works. Only for
The supply to dry up.its annoying, why shld NAIPRID, develope a drug and sell its
Right to an American company, for it to be sold 2wice its original price. Anyway its the Naija
Ru.bish. Sombody there probably had a deal with the company, to make extra cash.

I remember visiting Xechem pharms labs while still in Pharmacy school and production of Nicosan was in progress. Nw, its all history. rather unfortunate how life-determinant issues cld be trivialised to monetary, political, or simply selfish ends.

Nicosan, Now Niprisan hope this one will not disappear too

Niprisan is the same drug as Nicosan. Niprisan is the original name, when the drug was licensed to Xechem they changed the name to Nicosan. Now that it's reverted back to NIPRD, they are using the original name to avoid any trade mark infringement since the name Nicosan is owed by a former Xechem executive. Hemoxin was the trade name that was going to be used in the US and in Europe...

To those that feel Niprisan is a scam, it is not. This is a real product that works. I've been involved in this from the US side of things for over four years now and have been part of much of the legal mess as well as the attempts to restructure the company. My efforts have basically failed for various reasons (it takes serious money to hire attorneys...), but have been in constant contact with a number of key people involved in this and am very confident that Niprisan will be back in production in limited quantities very soon, with increasing production as capabilities allow. NIPRD and those involved have been working on Niprisan for 20 years now and they have a very deep emotional attachment to this project. They've dealt with Sickle Cell patients and their families, they've seen grown men break down and cry in their offices when they found out they couldn't get Niprisan (again, it was called Nicosan at the time) for their children. They have had parents drive from all ends of Nigeria to NIPRD's offices in Abuja to get the medicine and have had to deal with the heartbreak of those parents when they are told that there is nothing they can do to help them.

NIPRD has been handcuffed in this entire process. They licensed the project to someone they trusted, who was thrown out of his own company and replaced by a man that has absolutely no concern for anyone but himself. Then you have the banks that took Xechem into Receivership, filing a lawsuit against NIPRD to keep them from going out to find another company to produce and market the drug. All the while (it will be three years next week that the banks shut down the facility, including all production), those who were taking Nicosan lost their critical medicine. We have no idea how many deaths can be attributed to this, but I'm sure there are some...

At this time, NIPRD is looking to restart fresh. They will produce Niprisan themselves and they will get the product into the hands of those that need it as best they can. It will not be free (unless purchased and given away), but it will most likely be less expensive as it was when marketed as Nicosan. NIPRD is an underfunded Government agency that was tasked to research and develop into commercial products traditional medicines from around Nigeria. The only way they can do that is to have the funding needed to hire researchers and to support their research needs. Three years ago NIPRD finished construction on a new five-story complex that will house their entire operation, but as of today they can't move into it because they don't have the funds to supply the complex with basics such as lab desks. Royalty revenues from commercial products that come out of NIPRD's labs were to help expand their R&D efforts in finding treatments for such diseases as HIV, Tuberculosis, Diabetes, etc., but the last Royalty payment NIPRD received from Nicosan was in 2007. They are motivated to get Niprisan not only to Nigerians, but to take Niprisan to the global Sickle Cell Community. Keep in mind, in 2004 Niprisan was awarded Orphan Drug Designation status by the US FDA and the EMEA (Europe) in 2005.

Niprisan needs to start off with a clean slate and confidence that it will bring pride and positive recognition to Nigeria.

LaMonte Forthun
TEaM Sickle Cell
(Test, Educate and Medicate)