As the world continued to battle with efforts aimed at finding cure to
HIV/AIDS, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced
another breakthrough in the treatment of the disease with the discovery
of an oral botanical drug, Crofelemer.
The new drug is the second botanical, and an orally administered drug to be approved by FDA since 2006.
The
latest breakthrough owes its success to a pioneering research carried
out in the United States by a team of scientists including Nigeria’s
Professor Maurice Iwu, an acclaimed pharmacologist and tropical medicine
expert.
Prof. Maurice Iwu
The first botanical drug to be
approved in the United States was a topical green tea extract, Veregen,
in 2006. Both botanical drugs meet all US pharmaceutical requirements
and can be dispensed only by prescription.
However, ‘’Crofelemer
is the first drug to be approved in the United States to treat HIV
-associated diarrhea. It is derived from the latex of the South American
sangre de drago tree (dragon’s blood, Croton lechleri). A red,
blood-resembling latex leaks from the tree when its bark is cut, and it
is this substance that contains the novel polymolecular structure
crofelemer, originally developed and standardized by Shaman
Pharmaceuticals. Fulyzag is the second botanical drug approved by the
agency. The drug’s approval marks an important event in the decades-long
history of crofelemer.’’
The latest ‘’Healthnews,’’ in a report
entitled, ‘’Nigeria’s Maurice Iwu, others record breakthrough in
HIV/AIDS treatment: Amazon tree-derived medicine cleared for usage in
HIV patients with diarrhea,’’ stated, ‘’On New Year’s Eve of 2012, the
US Food and Drug Administration announced its approval of crofelemer,
marking the second time a botanical, and the first time an orally
administered botanical, has received drug approval from the
Administration. The first botanical drug to be approved in the United
States was a topical green tea extract, Veregen in 2006. Both botanical
drugs meet all US pharmaceutical requirements and can be dispensed only
by prescription.
’’The latest breakthrough owes its success to a
pioneering research carried out in the United States by a team of
scientists which included Nigeria’s Professor Maurice Iwu, an acclaimed
pharmacologist and tropical medicine expert.
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