KPI to make malaria drug
Apr 18, 2006
KAMPALA Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (KPI) will soon begin manufacturing the new Artemesinin combination drug under the brand name DUACT.
By Ronald Kalyango
KAMPALA Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (KPI) will soon begin manufacturing the new Artemesinin combination drug under the brand name DUACT.
The chief executive officer of the Ntinda-based industry, Nazeem Mohamed, said DUACT, a combination of Artesunate and Amodiaquine, is part of the Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation new malaria treatment policy change. Early this year, the ministry launched a drug combination of Artemether and Lumefantrine to replace Chloroquine and fansida which had faced resistance as a first line medicine for uncomplicated malaria in many places.
Currently, KPI is importing the drug from India. Nazeem said they have so far availed DUACT kits for adults, adolescents and children. “We wanted to first track the product into the country and we have successfully achieved that. The next step is producing and packaging it from our premises.â€
He said the drug is expected within two to three months. “There will be mass production, enough for the Ugandan market,†he said.
Nazeem said raw material for the drug would be procured locally. DUACT is derived from Artemisia annua, the herbal medicinal plant, which has been used to treat many human ailments in countries of the Far East such as, China and Vietnam.
In Uganda, this herbal plant is comparatively new. It is shrub-like in appearance and can grow to a height of two metres or slightly over. The leaves closely resemble those of carrots and slightly deviate from those of the narcotic njaga. They emit a sweet-like aroma, which leaves a residual smell like effect on one’s hands. From Artemisia annua, a chemical substance, artemisinin, is extracted to make an antimalarial drug Beta artemether, which is marketed by drug companies under a variety of trade names, the common one in Uganda being Artenum and Artesunate.
In Kabale, Mukono, Mbale and Kabarole, farmers have started cultivating the Artemisia plant. They are currently exporting it to India.
At the District Agricultural Training and Information Centre (DATIC) in Kabarole, a new project has been initiated to promote farmer adoption and up take of Artemisia cultivation. The DATIC component is part of the Agricultural Sector Programme Support funded by DANIDA.
Dr. Julius Kyaligonza, the centre manager, Kyembogo, said they have started trials of Artemisia production in preparation for future mass production on commercial basis. He said farmers dry the leaves and pound them into flour which they sell at sh1,200 per kilogramme. It takes two to three months for the herb to be harvested.
The director of Kibale National Park, Prof John Kasenene said Artemisia Annua is being grown at a newly established botanical garden in Kabalore District. Afro Alpine Pharma is also said to have established a 20,000-acre plantation of the anti-malarial plant in Kabale and Kisoro.
Malaria control programme manager Dr John Rwakimari said the ministry of Agriculture is following all these developments.
Romano Fernandes of KPI says manufacturing DUACT locally will solve the problem of dependence on outside, delays in transportation and clearing at entry points.
KAMPALA Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (KPI) will soon begin manufacturing the new Artemesinin combination drug under the brand name DUACT.
The chief executive officer of the Ntinda-based industry, Nazeem Mohamed, said DUACT, a combination of Artesunate and Amodiaquine, is part of the Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation new malaria treatment policy change. Early this year, the ministry launched a drug combination of Artemether and Lumefantrine to replace Chloroquine and fansida which had faced resistance as a first line medicine for uncomplicated malaria in many places.
Currently, KPI is importing the drug from India. Nazeem said they have so far availed DUACT kits for adults, adolescents and children. “We wanted to first track the product into the country and we have successfully achieved that. The next step is producing and packaging it from our premises.â€
He said the drug is expected within two to three months. “There will be mass production, enough for the Ugandan market,†he said.
Nazeem said raw material for the drug would be procured locally. DUACT is derived from Artemisia annua, the herbal medicinal plant, which has been used to treat many human ailments in countries of the Far East such as, China and Vietnam.
In Uganda, this herbal plant is comparatively new. It is shrub-like in appearance and can grow to a height of two metres or slightly over. The leaves closely resemble those of carrots and slightly deviate from those of the narcotic njaga. They emit a sweet-like aroma, which leaves a residual smell like effect on one’s hands. From Artemisia annua, a chemical substance, artemisinin, is extracted to make an antimalarial drug Beta artemether, which is marketed by drug companies under a variety of trade names, the common one in Uganda being Artenum and Artesunate.
In Kabale, Mukono, Mbale and Kabarole, farmers have started cultivating the Artemisia plant. They are currently exporting it to India.
At the District Agricultural Training and Information Centre (DATIC) in Kabarole, a new project has been initiated to promote farmer adoption and up take of Artemisia cultivation. The DATIC component is part of the Agricultural Sector Programme Support funded by DANIDA.
Dr. Julius Kyaligonza, the centre manager, Kyembogo, said they have started trials of Artemisia production in preparation for future mass production on commercial basis. He said farmers dry the leaves and pound them into flour which they sell at sh1,200 per kilogramme. It takes two to three months for the herb to be harvested.
The director of Kibale National Park, Prof John Kasenene said Artemisia Annua is being grown at a newly established botanical garden in Kabalore District. Afro Alpine Pharma is also said to have established a 20,000-acre plantation of the anti-malarial plant in Kabale and Kisoro.
Malaria control programme manager Dr John Rwakimari said the ministry of Agriculture is following all these developments.
Romano Fernandes of KPI says manufacturing DUACT locally will solve the problem of dependence on outside, delays in transportation and clearing at entry points.