TheCable

May & Baker Nigeria Plc has signed an agreement with the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) for commercial production of anti sickle cell drug, NAPRISAN.

The agreement was signed in Abuja by Nnamdi Okafor, managing director of the company, and Olabayo Kunle, acting director-general of NIPRD.

Isaac Adewole, minister of health, also witnessed it.

The federal executive council recently ratified the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between NIPRD and May & Baker Nigeria, leading to the eventual signing of the commercialization agreement.

Speaking on the agreement, Okafor , said that his company took on the task of producing NIPRISAN to provide succour to  many homes which have  been weighed down by the agony of sickle cell anaemia.

“We expect this product to be a commercial success and a leading product of our company  as we intend to give it all the attention required,” Okafor said.

NIPRISAN is an anti sicklling formula discovered by NIPRD researchers several years back.

Its commercialisation in Nigeria is expected to substantially relieve the sickle cell disease burden which is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people in the country yearly and has brought agony to many families.