Medical experts advocate improved investment in drug research, development

A professor of Pharmacology from the University College London Professor Humphry Rang yesterday called on governments to invest in research into drugs and cure to advance medical practice in the country.

Speaking at the University of Benin International Symposium/Doctroal Colloquium titled “Drug discovery in a changing world” Rang enumerated the benefits of modern medicine, saying the rate at which new medicines are introduced remained as high as ever.

The event was supported by various organisations and companies including Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company and several others.

He said the increasing emphasis on identifying and exploiting new drug targets was a strategy “exemplified by the development of first beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs, ACE inhibitors and statins.

According to him, “much has changed in biomedicine in the last thirty years, most notably the growing importance of molecular and cell biology, and genomics, changes which have provided many new techniques and therapeutic opportunities, but also thrown up new challenges for the industry”.

He said drug discovery depended largely on the support of the government because of huge financial involvement just as he called for international donors supports.

For instance, he said it cost him $1 billion to get into the discovery of drugs for certain ailments.

A professor of pharmacology at the University of Benin Profesor Hope Obianwu yesterday said over 4 million Nigerians are sickle cell anaemia patients.

He said the only cure for sickle cell “though funny” is marijuana which is identified as a narcotic. My research on sickle cell anemia which we have used and proved the efficacy is Indian hemp for the proper treatment of sicke cell nemia “that is the good, the bad and the ugly side of marijuana.

Representative of Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company at the event, Luke Agbo said Pfizer Company in partnership with the university of Benin believes in making the world a healthier place. “Partnering with the university in programmes with this will help expand the broad of knowledge.” He said.

He added that,the lecture exposes students and stakeholders in the medical sector the opportunity to appreciate science noting that,” Pfizer is doing a lot of work to enable our local scientists to develop strengthen that capacity and also trying to create an enabling environment for young intellectuals, particularly the medical and pharmaceutical students.”

Meanwhile, the United States (US) Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, and the wife who is the Vice President, Africana Consultants US, Dr. Arese Carrington, Pfizer pharmaceuticals and the University of Benin (UNIBEN) hadtasked government at all levels to do more in enforcing girls and women right to health and education.

The experts, yesterday, in Benin City, Edo State, at the Eminent series lectures with the theme ‘’Nigeria and the future of the Black World and the female imperative in Africa” said that the gravity of gender inequality is a pin in the neck of Nigeria and the rest of the World.