PRESS RELEASES

USG and Nigeria Commissions state-of- the-art laboratory for drug research

February 20, 2008

Abuja, Nigeria - On Thursday, February 21, 2008, Honorable Minister of State for Health, Arch. Gabriel Aduku and the Hon. Robin R. Sanders, U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, will jointly commission a state-of-the-art laboratory for tuberculosis (TB) drug research and treatment in Nigeria. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin promptly at 10:00 am on the premises of the laboratory at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Idu, Abuja.

Funded by the U.S. Government, which is working in collaboration with NIPRD and the Government of Nigeria, the fully equipped world-class chemistry/biology laboratory is another strategic asset supporting research into new treatments for tuberculosis. Under the leadership of Nigerian scientists, the new laboratory’s research scientists will cooperate closely with traditional healers to explore the value of ethno-botanically selected plant extracts for the treatment of tuberculosis.

Scientific collaboration between the United States and Nigeria on TB research began in 2002. Working toward the goal of drug discovery and improved TB treatment, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has collaborated closely with the NIPRD in this effort for the past six years.

NIPRD scientists have been trained at NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, under the supervision of Dr. Clifton Barry, Chief of the Tuberculosis Research Section in the NIAID Division of Intramural Research. NIH also signed a Training Collaboration Arrangement with NIPRD and the University of Ibadan for the professional development of qualified and motivated candidates to enter a post-graduate fellowship program. This program, which leads to a Ph.D. degree in the area of Natural Products Chemistry, is ongoing.

-End of Press Release-