The University of Abuja will soon conduct extensive research to facilitate improvement in the production of drugs for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) and hypertension.
Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Michael U. Adikwu stated this in Abuja while receiving a team from Glaxo Smith Kline, (GSK) London who visited the main campus and the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital to inspect facilities for pharmaceutical laboratory trial.
Adikwu said the varsity has already set up a centre of excellence for sickle cell disease research and control and that it would also benefit from a £25 million (N7.09bn) grant to Africa by Glaxo meant for further research on the efficacy of the three existing drugs for the management of hypertension.
A statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Waziri Garba noted that the trial is expected to focus research on three combinations of medications namely, Amlodipine-Lisnopril, Lisnopril-Thiazide and Amlodipine- Thiazide for the treatment of hypertension cases.
The Global Health Projects Director of GSK, Mrs. Ann Duffon, and the principal investigator, Dr. Ojji Dike, of the Department of Internal Medicine of the University of Abuja said that the research on the combination drugs was to test for their efficacy and for those with fewer side effects in order to establish the best anti-hypertensive drugs for Africa.
