The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says there are plans to commence local manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines by next year.
The Director-General of the NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this while speaking on ARISE News Channel’s ‘The Morning Show.’
According to her, the agency has commenced clinical trials on three local herbal medicinal products to confirm their efficacy in the treatment of the coronavirus.
Adeyeye said the government was concerned about the absence of medicine security and its implications for the healthcare needs of the people.
She said the federal government was particularly worried about current challenges posed by an inadequate supply of vaccines to take care of millions of Nigerians.
“Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have approved 45 herbal medicines for listing for temporal approval but you cannot say that they cure COVID-19. Out of these numbers, two or three herbal medicine products have started clinical trials,” she said.
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Adeyeye said listing a product only means that it is now safe for consumption but does not confirm how efficacious such medicine would be until it is subjected to clinical trials.
“It does not confirm how efficacious such herbal drug is until it is subjected to clinical trials. To do clinical trial, it has to be well designed. It is not just that I gave it to 10 people in my village and it worked, but you have to do it in such a way that it will attract recognition across the world. That clinical trial stage is what is going on now,” she said.
Adeyeye also spoke of the Central Bank of Nigeria-assisted initiative known as the Research and Development Intervention Scheme, which provides funds to assist local production of medicine.
“It cost a lot of money, that is why the CBN is helping to put some money into this intervention scheme for those who are successful during the grant review process,” she added.
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