National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development
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| Abbreviation | NIPRD |
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| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Abuja, FCT, Nigeria |
| Coordinates | 9°02′51″N 7°20′29″E / 9.0475°N 7.3415°E |
Official language | English |
Director General | Obi Peter Adigwe |
Parent organization | Federal Ministry of Health |
| Website | https://www.niprd.gov.ng |
The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) is a Nigerian institution charged with developing drugs, biological products, and pharmaceutical raw materials, conducting quality-assurance tests, research for locally manufactured medicines, and constituting guidelines for their production.[1][2] Founded in 1987, it was a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. In 2001, it was moved to Federal Ministry of Health.[3][1]
- In August 2018, NIPRD got ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, for meeting international standards for testing medicines, food, cosmetics, agricultural products, and herbal products.[4]
- In July 2019, under the leadership of Dr. Obi Peter Adigwe, NIPRD announced that they had developed six traditional herbal products for the treatment and management of Ebola, malaria, sickle cell anaemia and other diseases.[5]
- In August 2021, African Export-Import Bank awarded $400,000 grants to NIPRD to boost local production of active pharmaceutical ingredients.[6]
- In April 2022, the NIPRD signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to improve the industry value chain for traditional medicine in Nigeria and Africa.[7]
- In August 2022, the NIPRD constituted a Disease Detection and Prevention Consortium along with University of Sheffield, Usman Danfodiyo University and the West African Health Organization.[8]
Major drug developments
Niprisan
The NIPRD produces Niprisan for the management of sickle cell disorders. It is commercialized as Niclovix.[9] Niprisan is a phytochemical formulated from parts of four different indigenous plants (Piper guineense seeds, Pterocarpus osun stem, Eugenia caryophyllus fruit and Sorghum bicolor leaves). In June 2018, May & Baker signed a production agreement with NIPRD for the commercialization of Niprisan in Nigeria.[10]
In July 2022, The Director-General of NIPRD, Dr. Obi Peter Adigwe, announced that more than 40 countries buy Niprisan from Nigeria.[11][12]
Niprimune
In March 2020, under the directive of the Federal Government, the NIPRD started developing models to identify herbal medicines to combat COVID-19.[13] By early 2021, NIPRD had discovered Niprimune, a locally made phytomedicine as an adjunct for the management of COVID-19[14] and was approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).[15] The Institute had decried lack of funding to advance its production and further research.[16][17]