Pharmacists donate N10m for production of sickle cell drug

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has donated N10 million to the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) to scale up the production of NIPRISAN.  NIPRISAN is a drug developed by NIPRID for the management of Sickle Cell Disease. Thepresident of the PSN, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, announced the donation when he led a […]

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has donated N10 million to the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) to scale up the production of NIPRISAN.
 NIPRISAN is a drug developed by NIPRID for the management of Sickle Cell Disease.
Thepresident of the PSN, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, announced the donation when he led a delegation on a visit to the director general of NIPRID, Prof. Karynius Gamaliel, in Abuja.
 He said the society decided to make the donation to revive NIPRID to produce the drug in bulk instead of the few tablets the organization had been producing.
 Yakasai promised that the society would embark on massive advocacy, lobbying and partnerships with international organizations to ensure that NIPRID overcame it funding challenges and reposition it for improved services to Nigerians.
 Prof Gamaliel said it was wrong to concede the operations of NIPRD to government alone, adding that operational partnership between PSN and NIPRD would enable evidence-based decision making leading to better policies and actions to achieve its goals and impact on the lives of the citizens.
 He said inspite of the great efforts by regulatory agencies, the drug situation in Nigeria today still needed even greater attention.
  He also called for collaboration with the society to carry out a study to determine the impact of national health programmes and policies in the pharmaceutical sector, and another project to identify regulatory and market issues that impact on the manufacture, affordability and access to good and quality medicines in Nigeria, as well as the global competitiveness in the industry.
 Meanwhile, the PSN president, Ahmed Yakasai, also visited the president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Mike O. Ogirima, at the NMA headquarters in Abuja, where he called for strengthened partnership and mentorship of members to tackle conflicts and rivalry between the professional associations.