A Nigerian research company, Xcene Research Limited, is on track to lead Africa towards the standardization and domestication of clinical trials across the continent.
Clinical trials are primary research that examines health products or solutions to ensure they are suitable for human consumption and promote well-being.
Adebukunola Telufusi, Executive Director of Xcene Research, said there is a need to conduct clinical trials in Africa that take into account the particularity of African populations and their potential to deploy products with better life expectancy.
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She made this known during a recent press conference held in Lagos to announce the fourth edition of the Impact Africa Summit with the theme: “Clinical Trials in Africa: Strengthening an emerging sector in diversified markets through partnerships and local collaboration”.
The Impact Africa Summit is scheduled to take place from November 30 to December 2, 2023 at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.
According to her, the need for Africa to strengthen its capacity in the field of clinical trials is imminent, judging from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, where Africa recorded a lower population death due to its unique racial characteristics.
She noted that health professionals in Africa must recreate their own narrative by creating pathways for collaboration, saying this year’s summit will be a convergence of professionals, policy makers and thought leaders across the value chain health care to build a health sector that meets health care in Africa. needs.
“Global clinical research organizations (CROs) may not have an attachment to Africa, but we, as local CROs, have an interest in Africa and we want to ensure that clinical trials that have carried out have an impact on the burden of disease in Africa. By bringing all the key players together at the Impact Africa Summit, we can come together to see how we can begin to streamline these processes,” said Telufusi.
Yakubu Nyam Beno, deputy director of the National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), said clinical trials are playing an increasingly crucial role in securing the health sector in Africa. According to him, NAFDAC is working on a policy to strengthen standardization through clinical trials for products manufactured in Nigeria.
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We want to see how we can leverage CROs like Xcene. I believe that conducting medical clinical trials and generating credible data from clinical trials will open research institutions to more sponsorship. NAFDAC is implementing a policy by 2025 that every generic product manufactured in Nigeria must have bioequivalence data, which is a form of clinical trials. This means that if you want to register your product with NAFDAC, you must submit your bioequivalence data before being registered.”
Nneka Onyejepu, a senior researcher at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), said Africa has all the resources needed to conduct clinical research to global standards and beyond developing local capacity to clinical trials, stakeholders must collaborate to ensure that results lead to availability. of healthcare solutions to solve existing problems.
“We have all the necessary resources to conduct clinical trials according to global standards and I hope that in the future, we will all ensure that Nigeria is on the global clinical trial map. If we come together, we can take clinical trials to the next level and it’s not just about clinical trials; it’s that the products are available in such a way that they reach those who need them,” Onyejepu said.
