Executive Director for the Centre for Plant Medicine Research, Dr. Kofi Bobi Barimah, has dismissed allegations that his institution has claimed ownership of some covid-19 drugs owned by the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM).
The Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM) has accused the Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR), an institution for research into herbal medicine, of claiming ownership of herbal drugs presented for research by the association.
According to the Association, it has lost trust in the Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR) and that they believe they are not being treated fairly by the research institution.
This comment by the association comes after the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the National Medicine Regulatory Agency (NMRA) in Ghana, announced that it has approved herbal medicine, Cryptolepis sanguino/enta, locally known as Nibima for clinical trials in 2021.
According to the FDA, researchers from the School of Public Health at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (KNUST), submitted a clinical trial application in September 2020 to assess the safety and efficacy of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta as a potential treatment for Covid-19.
Reacting to the theft claims by GHATFRAM, Executive Director for the Centre for Plant Medicine Research, Dr. Kofi Bobi Barimah, said the research institute has never claimed ownership of any drug presented by GHATFRAM.
He noted that the Cryptolepis sanguino/enta, locally known as Nibima was not given to the School of Public Health at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (KNUST) as being alleged by GHAFTRAM.
“ Please ignore the allegations from GHAFTRAM. As a research institution, we do not have the right to claim ownership of any drug brought to our institution to be researched into. We do not play delay tactics with them. We work with them all the time and we cannot do what they are suggesting,” he added.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu Boatemaa
