Nigeria's Minister of State for Health Gabriel Aduku called on the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development to focus its efforts on producing malaria drugs to fight the disease more effectively in the country, the Daily Trust/AllAfrica.com reports.

Aduku spoke at the opening ceremony for the International Workshop on Green Chemistry and Essential Drug Production in Developing Countries in Abuja, Nigeria.

Aduku said that it is necessary to explore internal approaches to controlling malaria because the price of artemisinin-based combination therapies has increased significantly since the World Health Organization began recommending the drugs. He also noted that the cost for generic essential drugs is high partly because their active pharmaceutical ingredients for local production are imported.

NIPRD has produced a new malaria drug from local natural products, which is undergoing clinical trials, according to Aduku. He added that experts still need to evaluate the full development and production of the drug and consider the effect on governments' annual budgets.

The collaboration between NIPRD and other experts will provide helpful learning and networking opportunities for researchers in developing countries to work with colleagues in industrialized countries, Ufot Inyang, director-general of NIPRD, said.

Source-Kaiser Family Foundation
SRM/L