Why Gulu University has not received Museveni’s Shs 3.7b for clinic trial of Covid-19 herbal medicine

GULU– The Shs 3.7 billion financial support promised by the government to Gulu University for the development of herbal medicine against Covid-19 remains unfulfilled, as researchers and national regulators of medicines fight over safety and ownership issues.

The lead content developer of Covilyce-1, a polyherbal concoction for the treatment of some ailments that are caused by coronavirus, Dr. Alice Veronica Lamwaka, a Pharmaceutical Scientist is failing to present her product for pre-clinical trial due to lack of funds.

In the wake of the second wave of the infection, Dr. Lamwaka, the lead researcher of the project, announced that the concoction would cure some ailments caused by the virus within 12 to 72 hours of administering the medicine to the patient.

It should be remembered that Dr. Lamwaka’s public announcement amidst the spread of the pandemic pushed the product into the open market but regulators would later stop the circulation of the herbal medicine on the market for lack of approval.

The National Drug Authority [NDA], the regulator of medicines and related products in the country, stopped the University from such production citing safety and efficacy concerns, said NDA’s Public Relations Officer, Abix Rwamwiri.

While Gulu University was still pondering about NDA’s directive not to put the medicine on the local market, its innovators sought support from President Museveni who ordered for the release of Shs 3.7 bln for clinical trials of the content. However, eight months later, Gulu University is struggling to access the funding.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation [MSTI] has maintained that the development of the product cannot be funded right now.

In February 2022, a team of select committee of Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee visited the University on a fact-finding mission, where among others was to find out whether the institution had received the cash promised by Museveni.

Led by the Nwoya County Member of Parliament Tonny Awany, the committee established that the University has not received the fund, a report that was taken to the Parliament for consideration.

The investigation into the matter followed the allegation raised by the Ntungamo Legislator Yona Musinguzi that Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Monica Musenero, had mismanaged the Shs 31 bln meant for the research and development of Covid-19 vaccines in the country.

The University Vice-Chancellor Dr. George Openjuru Ladaa disclosed in a meeting with the Committee that despite a letter written by the President on August 22, 2021, to Dr. Monica Musenero, the Minister of Science and Technology for the release of the fund, nothing was done.

The lead researcher of the product Dr Lamwaka maintained that even when they are ready for clinical trials there is no fund to support the processes.

“There is anecdotal evidence that the medicine has heavily contributed to curbing the pandemic in the region but the government is reluctant to support the research and its contents,” Dr. Lamwaka told the Cooperator in a recent interview.

In an inclusive interview with the officials from MSTI, our investigations established why the government is reluctant to commit funding to Gulu University for its content development of herbal medicine.

Dr. Moses Ocan is the Lecturer of Pharmacology at Makerere University and a member of Covid-19 Natural Therapeutics Clinical Trial School at Mulago Lung Institute explained why the University cannot get funds for the project.

Dr. Ocan noted that the Covid-19 Natural Therapeutics Clinical Trial School [CONAT] is the only body that was established through the Ministry of Science and Technology to coordinate the scientific evolution of traditional remedies invented by the local scientists and researchers for Covid-19 treatment.

He explained that all the innovators must first present the contents and products in the pre-clinical trial and once that is done, the team will have assessed whether innovation can advance to the next step of clinical trial and it is only at the second phase of the investigations where funding is guaranteed.

“Everyone seems to be discovering something new but in medicine, there should be information backed up by the study on how the medicine works but unfortunately we haven’t seen Alice Lamwaka yet following the for which she must undergo if her product is qualified for clinical trial, ”  Dr. Ocan disclosed.

He however revealed that only five of the innovators of such products in the country have had their products presented in the pre-clinical trial, only three advanced to clinical trials while two others were objected to because of insufficient information they provided to support their claims.

“Why CONAT is concerned about the implications of the usage of these traditional remedies and is working with the innovators to improve on the standard but we can’t explain why Dr. Lamwaka is using evidence-based on anecdotal and that that can’t be used in medicine and the Ministry is still waiting for her to present her product before she could be supported,” Dr. Ocan reaffirmed his statement.

He further explained that from the presentation Dr. Lamwaka is yet to undergo that the Ministry will determine whether her product will qualify for the next stage of the investigation, which is a clinical trial where funding will be released, but this, he says is something the innovator has ignored and omitted.

Meanwhile, there is fear that the funding could deprive the innovator and the University of absolute ownership of the final product.

According to Dr. Ocan, the issue of intellectual property is one of the biggest concerns of the innovators and the researchers across the country who do not have money to develop their products and feel threatened that the government will dispossess them of their ownership.

“You discovered the product and you don’t have the money to develop it and so government comes in to develop the content and you can clearly see who will own the product because the current policy isn’t on the side of the innovators and the fear of Alice Lamwaka is the fear of all the innovators in the Country for the government is yet to address,” Dr. Ocan further added.

He also disclosed that even those innovators whose products have advanced for clinical trial are still facing the same situation of the policy implications on their final product once they are developed and the ownership of such products is being debated with the proposed policy review to harmonize on the government position and that of the innovator, a content developer or a researcher.

His counterpart Brenda Nakazibwe, the Program Coordinator Presidential Science Initiative on Epidemics [PRESIDE], the final body that oversees the release of the fund for research and innovation development, says that the government has undertaken the capacity building of the scientists in the wake of the pandemic and has seen success in innovation.

Whereas the University has severally attempted to follow up on the fund, Dr. Lamwaka says she is not aware of the vetting committee established by the Ministry of Science and Technology in the pre-clinical trial, the ‘CONAT’ of her products.

However, to Ministry, the pre-clinical trial is the one that determines whether a product can qualify for the final clinical trial, Dr. Ocan has described it as unfortunate that some of the innovators have remained illiterate on or are just adamant to commit to the highest standard of the health care operation.

There have been a series of meetings and engagements from the University with various stakeholders on the development of the product, which attracted both national and international concerns from the health experts including the World Health Organization.

The Scientists from the World Health Organization ([WHO] in a recent inspection of the product in the laboratory at Gulu University were impressed by the progress the innovators have made so far in the development of the product.

Prof. Joseph Okeinbunor, who led a delegation of scientists from WHO Regional Office for Africa, said the innovation is a good gesture as it is in line with their calls for more research on African traditional medicine.

The scientists, all members of the Regional Expert Advisory Committee on Traditional Medicine for Covid-19 Response (REACT), visited the university recently to review its mission to develop COVID-19 herbal treatment.

In an interview thereafter, Prof. Okeibunor told the Cooperator WHO is committed to offering technical support to the University to improve on its innovation.

He said that although there is still a lot to be done, the University and its scientists have made some remarkable achievements in the progress of content development, which will contribute to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

He noted that the Organization has taken interest in accelerating the process of developing traditional medicine by ensuring that they are standardized in compliance with international standards for global acceptance and urged the Country to adopt the study of traditional medicine into the medical curriculum.

He said 25 African Countries have so far integrated traditional medicine into the medical schools for study, something he said Uganda has achieved little to implement yet it envisions the capacity building of the African scientists in promotion of the local contents, products and research works.

WHO and the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) are already pushing for COVID-19 traditional medicine research in Africa.

The agencies have formed a 25-member expert advisory panel to provide scientific advice and support to countries on the safety, efficacy, and quality of traditional medicine for fighting COVID-19.

The panel, selected from Central, Eastern, Southern and West African countries, will coordinate support to African countries to collaborate in undertaking clinical trials with a focus on traditional medicine-based therapies.

Traditional medicine, according to a study, is the health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs combining plant, animal and mineral-based medicines applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being. It also includes spiritual therapies, manual techniques, and exercises.

https://thecooperator.news/gulu-university-stuck-with-11-tons-of-mango-juice/

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