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GMOs: What we eat must not eat us

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GMOs: What we eat must not eat us

Nnimmo Bassey, Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF, in his welcome words) at the Media Training on Biosafety (themed: “Promoting Biosafety in Nigeria”) held in Benin City, Edo State on Friday, March 24 2017, laments that the many myths around modern agricultural biotechnology are being peddled regularly by the industry promoting genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their team players in public offices

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Nnimmo Bassey at the Media Training on Biosafety in Benin City, Edo State. He says research has shown that GMOs do not necessarily yield higher than normal crops

The key myths by which citizens are sold the idea of GMOs as being desirable include that they provide the most assured way of feeding the burgeoning population of hungry mouths in the world. The planks on which this highly seductive myth has been erected are quite flimsy. Research has shown that GMOs do not necessarily yield higher than normal crops, making the talk of producing more food by using GMOs simply fatuous. Secondly, over one third of food currently produced in the world today simply gets wasted, while most of the GMOs currently grown in the world end up as animal feed.

The need to interrogate our biosafety has become very pertinent because of the many myths around modern agricultural biotechnology. These myths are being peddled regularly by the industry promoting GMOs and their team players in public offices. A major plank on which biosafety, and perhaps biosecurity, rests is the precautionary principle. This principle, or approach, is a safeguard against the permission or introduction of products or elements into the environment where there is no scientific consensus that such an introduction would be safe or would not have an adverse impact. In other words, the precautionary principle helps to disallow the use of citizens as guinea pigs in experimental release of products that could harm them. The argument that there is a risk in everything is hollow and an acceptance of that as an excuse to expose citizens to harm is inhuman.

In this engagement on biosafety we hope to share information on the issues of biosafety and GMOs in Nigeria and Africa. The aim is that media practitioners would be able to sift the facts from the myths, and by so doing help the public to require a sense of responsibility from our biosafety regulators, research institutions, political forces and commercial interests behind the risky genetic engineering approach to food production.

The key myths by which citizens are sold the idea of GMOs as being desirable include that they provide the most assured way of feeding the burgeoning population of hungry mouths in the world. The planks on which this highly seductive myth has been erected are quite flimsy. Research has shown that GMOs do not necessarily yield higher than normal crops, making the talk of producing more food by using GMOs simply fatuous. Secondly, over one third of food currently produced in the world today simply gets wasted, while most of the GMOs currently grown in the world end up as animal feed.

Another argument used to sell GMOs is that they require the use of less chemical in terms of pesticides and herbicides because the crops can be engineered to withstand herbicides or to act as pesticides themselves. The emergence of what have been termed super weeds and superbugs have dented that claim as farmers have had to sometimes apply stronger doses of herbicides and pesticides on farms where such weeds or pests emerge. In any case, the herbicide known as Roundup/glyphosate to which crops engineered by Monsanto are resistant, has been said to be a ‘possible’ source for cancer.

Evidence is now mounting that there has been collusion by biotech companies and regulators in the USA to conceal the fact that glyphosate is indeed a probable human carcinogen. One Environmental Protection Agency official, Marion Copely, in a 2013 email stating the following ways in which glyphosate can cause cancer:

  • Endocrine disruption
  • Free radical formation and inhibition of free radical-scavenging enzymes
  • Genotoxicity – which is key in cancer onset
  • Inhibition of certain DNA repairing enzymes
  • Inhibiting the absorption of essential nutrients
  • Renal and pancreatic damage that may lead to cancer
  • Destruction of gut bacteria and suppression of the immune system

The official (who has cancer and passed on in 2014) added, “Any one of these mechanisms alone listed can cause tumors, but glyphosate causes all of them simultaneously. It is essentially certain that glyphosate causes cancer. With all of the evidence listed above, the CARC category should be changed to ‘probable human carcinogen.’”

A report published yesterday by Global 2000 shows that, between 2012 and 2016, biotech companies sponsored a series of review articles asserting that glyphosate and its commercial formulations are not injurious to health. The Global 2000 report, “buying Science” reveals that the industry-sponsored reviews of glyphosate’s carcinogenicity and genotoxicity (ability to damage DNA) have serious scientific flaws, including assigning greater weight to unpolished studies than peer-reviewed ones.

The papers are said to also have introduced irrelevant data in violation of standard guidelines for the evaluation of cancer studies in rodents. Moreover, the reviews also consistently assign greater weight to unpublished industry studies than to studies that were peer-reviewed and published in scientific journals.

The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) on May 1, 2016 approved for Monsanto/NABDA to introduce genetically engineered maize varieties that would depend on this cancer-causing weed killer. Responding to objections to the permits and the obnoxious chemical, Monsanto issued a press response claiming that the chemical would not offer any cause for worry if farmers apply them strictly according to the guidelines or labels on the packets. We note that overwhelming evidence show serious health impacts of agro-chemicals on persons working on farms planted with GMOs or living in close proximity to such farms.

We invite journalists to interrogate the fact that GMOs are grown as mono-cultures and consider what this would mean to our agricultural system which is anchored on mix-cropping that promotes diversity and resilience. It also pays for us to look at the woeful performance of GMO cotton in Burkina Faso where the crop is being phased out and the remarkable failure in Makhathini Flats in South Africa where it was showcased as a grand success for small scale farmers in the late 1990s. We should point out that it is the same failed GMO cotton that has been halted in Burkina Faso that has been permitted to be commercially released into Nigeria.

You will hear in this programme how our regulatory agency works in cohort with GMO promoters and where official GMO promoters are interlocked with Monsanto, as for example in the GMO maize application and approval. As one ancient philosopher said, we simply have to believe the evidence of our “eyes” before we jump unto the GMO bandwagon in the pretext that we are doing science, claiming that all is well, when there are deep wells of doubts concerning the technology.

As we speak, GMO products are already on our market shelves. And a plethora of field trails of others are ongoing, including that of GMO beans that may be introduced into the Nigerian markets by 2019, according to the promoters. HOMEF and other critical observers have scrutinised the NBMA Act of 2015 and found critical clauses in it that makes its capacity to protect our environment and health very questionable. We have also proposed how this situation can be remedied: either a total repeal of the act or a drastic review of the questionable provisions.

We should be concerned about what we eat. And we should not be forced to eat what we do not want to eat.

Honduras ratifies Minamata Convention

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Honduras ratifies Minamata Convention

The Government of Honduras on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 deposited its instrument of accession, thereby becoming the 39th future Party to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Juan-Orlando-Hernandez
President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez

Just last month, Liechtenstein and Togo endorsed the global treaty. While the Government of Liechtenstein on February 1, 2017 deposited its instrument of accession, the Togolese Government two days later followed suit on February 3, 2017.

Liechtenstein and Togo are respectively the 37th and 38th parties to ratify the Convention.

Costa Rica on 19 January, 2017 became the 36th Future Party to the Minamata Convention when it deposited its instrument of accession to that effect.

A minimum of 50 nations are required to ratify the Minamata Convention to make it legally binding.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty aimed at protecting human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury, was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) in Geneva, Switzerland on Saturday, 19 January 2013 – some four years ago.

Nigeria is one of the 128 signatories to the global treaty, but she is yet to ratify it. There are indications that Nigeria will soon ratify the global treaty.

Major highlights of the Minamata Convention include a ban on new mercury mines, the phase-out of existing ones, the phase out and phase down of mercury use in a number of products and processes, control measures on emissions to air and on releases to land and water, and the regulation of the informal sector of artisanal and small-scale gold mining. The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues.

Knocks, as Trump administration approves Keystone XL pipeline

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Knocks, as Trump administration approves Keystone XL pipeline

US president, Donald Trump, on Friday, March 24, 2017 approved a federal permit applied for by TransCanada to build the Keystone XL Pipeline. The decision comes after Trump signed an executive memorandum urging the State Department to approve the pipeline, which is proposed to run from Canada through Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska.

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The Keystone XL Pipeline

Environment watchdog group, 350.org, has however condemned the development, saying that the project will negatively impact the environment.

According to the group, it is planning to support resistance along the pipeline route, mobilise millions of Americans to send in comments and petitions against the project, push politicians during the April recess and beyond to come out against Keystone XL, and use the fight against the pipeline to fire up resistance to other fossil fuel projects across the country.

350.org co-founder, Bill McKibben, says: “When this fight began, the danger Keystone posed to the climate was clear. Since then we’ve had the three hottest years ever measured on our planet. That clearly means little to Donald Trump, but it means a lot to the millions of us who will continue to gather in resistance to an overheated future.”

Executive Director, May Boeve, adds: “This decision is far from the final word on Keystone XL. The same communities who defeated this pipeline before – Indigenous leaders, landowners, farmers, and grassroots activists – are ready to fight again. Trump and his industry-run administration are making a dangerous, expensive mistake bringing back Keystone.

“This is bigger than one pipeline – we will continue to put people and our climate before the fossil fuel industry’s greed, and build the renewable energy future we need.”

350.org Stop-it-at-the-Source campaigner, Clayton Thomas-Muller, states: “While US politics have changed in the past few months, some things haven’t: Keystone XL is still a climate disaster, it is still opposed by Indigenous peoples from Alberta to Nebraska to the Gulf of Mexico, and it still will be fought tooth and nail. Any politician siding with the fossil fuel industry on Keystone, be they named Trudeau or Trump, is in for one hell of a fight.”

Shell accused of concealing data on damage to health from spills

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Shell accused of concealing data on damage to health from spills

A leading oil spill expert, previously employed by Shell Nigeria, has alleged that Shell is trying to conceal data on the potential health effects of its oil spills on the Bodo community in the Niger Delta.

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Aftermath of oil spill in Bodo. Photo: Leigh Day

Kay Holtzmann, who was previously employed by Shell to conduct the clean-up of the Bodo community in the Niger Delta, wrote a letter to the current chairman of the Bodo Mediation Initiative, which is sponsored by the Dutch Government and tasked with ensuring the clean-up of the Bodo Community to international standards.

A copy of the letter from Mr Holtzmann was also sent to Shell, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Eric Solheim, and the Dutch Ambassador.

In the letter, Mr Holzman states that an analysis of the environment was conducted by the clean-up project in August 2015 of the Bodo creek against the “fierce opposition” of Shell Nigeria.

Mr Holtzman says in the letter: “The results from the laboratory were astonishingly high, actually the soil in the mangroves is literally soaked with hydrocarbons. Whoever is walking in the creeks cannot avoid contact with toxic substances. Although the locals are accustomed to their environment they are exposed to hazards and especially negative long term effects on their health are unpredictable.”

He claims that the results suggest the need for a “medical mass screening of the Bodo people” following their exposure to the highly dangerous hydrocarbons through bathing and drinking contaminated water.

He adds that he has requested permission from Shell Nigeria to publish the data which he believes is of public interest, but that, according to Mr Holtzmann, they have flatly refused.

He makes clear in the letter that it is his view that Shell Nigeria is behaving “irresponsibly” and has “no right to conceal important data”, however unpleasant.

Law firm Leigh Day, who secured £55 million in compensation for residents of the Bodo Community in 2015, was sent a copy of the letter and wrote to Shell on behalf of the community on January 30, 2017, seeking urgent clarification and disclosure of the data.

In addition, Leigh Day requested that Shell put in place the necessary health screening measures forthwith.  No response to that letter has been received, the firm adds.

Daniel Leader, Partner at Leigh Day who is representing the Bodo Community, said: “The Bodo Community was subjected to two devastating oil spills due to faults on Shell’s pipelines in 2008.  These spills led to the largest loss of mangrove habitat in the history of oil spills and ruined Bodo’s environment and way of life.

“Leigh Day has been pushing for the clean-up of Bodo, health screening of the population and testing of the water supply since 2011 – all to no avail.  This letter shows that even those who were employed by Shell are deeply concerned by their behaviour and their lack of transparency. Shell must act now.”

Leigh Day represents the Bodo Community in the Niger Delta, a rural coastal settlement consisting of 31,000 people who live in 35 villages. Most of its inhabitants are subsistence fishermen and farmers.

In 2008, two oil spills from Shell’s pipelines devastated the environment surrounding the community of Bodo, in Gokana Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria. The volume of oil spill was estimated by experts to have been in excess of 500,000 barrels. The oil caused what is believed to be the largest loss of mangrove habitat ever caused by an oil spill.

In 2011, Shell admitted liability for the spills but initially only offered the Community £4,000 in compensation. The compensation claims on behalf of the Community were eventually settled for £55 million in 2015.

Until the 2008 spills Bodo was a relatively prosperous town based on fishing. According to the claimants’ lawyers, the spills have destroyed the fishing industry. They claim Shell failed to speedily compensate the people of Bodo and delayed and prevaricated for years in the face of overwhelming evidence. However, the clean-up of the 2008 oil spills has still not commenced.

The United Nations, Amnesty International and the Nigerian government have all expressed reservations with Shell’s environmental record in the region.

The United Nations Environment Programme’s Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland 2011 appears to back up these findings. It surveyed pipelines and visited all oil spill sites, including the Bodo creek. It found Hydrocarbon contamination in water in some sites to be 1,000 times higher than permitted under Nigerian drinking water standards and recommended a comprehensive clean-up of Ogoniland.

However, six years after the UNEP report, no action seems to have been taken, apparently leaving the communities with the option of seeking justice in foreign courts.

Countries must remain committed to Paris Agreement – UN

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Countries must remain committed to Paris Agreement – UN

Climate change is an unprecedented and growing threat to peace, prosperity and development and addressing it presents an economic opportunity for governments and business, senior United Nations (UN) officials said on Thursday, March 23, 2017.

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A view of the UN headquarters complex, venue for the High-Level SDG Action

“We are dealing with scientific facts, not politics. And the facts are clear. Climate change is a direct threat in itself, and a multiplier of many other threats,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told a General Assembly High-Level action event aimed at invigorating political momentum on climate change, highlighting its deep links to the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

Mr. Guterres said his messages to the meeting are simple.

“First, climate change is an unprecedented and growing threat – to peace and prosperity and the same in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Second, addressing climate change is a massive opportunity that we cannot afford to miss,” he said.

The Paris Agreement on climate change adopted in December 2015 is unique in its universality, with every single government having signed it. The pact entered force in less than a year. To date more than 130 Parties have ratified it, and the numbers are growing monthly.

The countries that supported the Paris Agreement are the same that adopted the 2030 Agenda – they comprise all UN Member States.

The reason for this consensus, says the UN, is clear: all nations recognise that implementing the 2030 Agenda goes hand-in-glove with limiting global temperature rise and increasing climate resilience.

Mr. Guterres said that last year was once again the hottest on record. Sea ice is at a historic low and sea levels at a historic high. These trends are indisputable, he stressed, explaining that consequences of climate change include food insecurity, water scarcity, poverty and displacement.

Tackling climate change is a tremendous opportunity for Governments and business as there is no trade-off between a healthy environment and a healthy economy.

“We can have both. Green business is good business,” he said.

Climate action is a necessity and can advance the attainment of sustainable development goals.

“How we go about it can be the subject of scientific and political debate. But there is no question that we must act, urgently and decisively, now,” Mr. Guterres said. “And it remains the only viable way to safeguard peace, prosperity and a sustainable future.”

Also addressing the event, were Peter Thomson, President of the General Assembly, and Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

 

Still possible to bend curve on climate change trajectories

Mr. Thomson said that he had recently met with Petteri Taalas, the Secretary-General of the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), who confirmed that the world is currently on track towards a 3 to 4°C increase in global temperatures.

“I have always understood that once we reach the 3°C – 4°C range, humanity’s survival on this planet will be put in jeopardy,” he said.

Cyclone Winston and Cyclone Pam which devastated Fiji and Vanuatu in recent years were among the strongest tropical cyclones to ever make landfall in the Southern Hemisphere. Fiji, an island nation from which Mr. Thomson hails, has already begun relocating low-lying villages to higher ground, away from the encroaching shoreline and the rising threat of storm surges.

“While the prognosis is dire, the scientific community assures us it is possible to bend the curve on current trajectories, if we work together to curb the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr. Thomson said, reiterating his call for all parties to the Paris Agreement to ratify it without delay and for those that have already done so to deliver on their commitments.

 

Transformation opens door to sustainable future

Echoing Mr. Thomson’s statement, Ms. Espinosa said that it is a necessity to bend the emissions curve, build societies resilient to climate impacts and reduce risk by limiting warming to safe levels.

“And the policies that accomplish these goals must be developed with a focus on the sustained wellbeing of people, sound stewardship of the planet and responsible economic growth,” she said, noting that such a transformation opens the door to a future where growing human needs are reconciled against the need for a stable climate and healthy ecosystems.

“This challenge is immense. Inaction or insufficient action will destabilise the natural systems that underpin all social and economic development,” she said, urging concerted effort to overcome this challenge.

“We have truly entered the era of implementation. It is up to us, collectively as one community of nations, to accelerate action that builds a better future for all,” she said.

Climate, development agendas inherently linked

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Climate, development agendas inherently linked

Speaking at the opening of the President of the General Assembly High-Level Event Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Agenda in New York on 23 March, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa notes that the sustainable development and climate change agendas are inherently linked. “By looking at climate and sustainability holistically, we maximise the potential for positive outcomes of every action we take. And when international commitments are turned into country-level action, tangible benefits are delivered to communities and the people who live there,” she says

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Patricia Espinosa convened her first COP in Marrakech, Morocco on November 2016 as Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC

I must also express my sincere gratitude to the Secretary-General (of the UN, António Guterres) for making the connection between climate change and the sustainable development agenda and calling for an integrated approach to our challenges.

Your vision of preventing future risk through stronger institutions, more resilient societies and bold action must guide every nation forward through the sometimes turbulent waters of transformative change.

One 137 Member States are working towards that vision by ratifying the Paris Climate Change Agreement. This is both a crucial step towards concerted action on climate change and a step towards truly sustainable development.

As the international community takes these important initial steps in this new era of implementation, we must do so with the full knowledge that the sustainable development agenda and climate change agenda are inherently linked.

These challenges must be addressed in an integrated manner because there is only one on-the-ground reality. By looking at climate and sustainability holistically, we maximise the potential for positive outcomes of every action we take. And when international commitments are turned into country-level action, tangible benefits are delivered to communities and the people who live there.

Implementation is the policy that meets these commitments. And we must move quickly to put this policy in place.

We must bend the emissions curve, build societies resilient to climate impacts and reduce risk by limiting warming to safe levels. And the policies that accomplish these goals must be developed with a focus on the sustained well-being of people, sound stewardship of the planet and responsible economic growth.

This will fundamentally transform our social and economic structures and redefine our interaction with the natural world. Such a transformation opens the door to a future where growing human needs are reconciled against the need for a stable climate and healthy ecosystems.

This challenge is immense. Inaction or insufficient action will destabilise the natural systems that underpin all social and economic development. It is only through urgent, concerted effort that we can overcome this challenge.

The potential rewards from acting on climate change and sustainability are also immense. Climate action proactively manages global risk. And the SDGs present a compelling growth story for businesses. By some estimates, work towards the SDGs may open $12 trillion dollars of market opportunities or more.

Momentum is building to address these two agendas jointly. I have heard this clearly at events I have recently attended – the World Economic Forum, the World Government Summit, the Munich Security Conference, the Climate Leadership Conference and even major energy conferences like Petroleum Week and CERA Week.

In each of these venues, I have heard the compelling case for integrated action from leaders of governments, leaders of finance and leaders of business.

So momentum is certainly building in national governments and in the unprecedented alliance of companies, investors, cities, regions, institutions and individuals – all moving towards low-emission, sustainable growth.

These groups are acting in their own best interests. Businesses are reducing costs now and future risks. Investors are tapping into stable markets with predictable growth. Cities and regions are acting on climate change to enhance the quality of life in their communities. And people increasingly demand products that don’t harm others or the environment.

We have truly entered the era of implementation. It is up to us, collectively as one community of nations, to accelerate action that builds a better future for all.

We must address the challenges of sustainability and climate change in an integrated manner, with people and planet at the centre of our work.

We must encourage transformation that promotes responsible use of natural resources and protects the environment for future generations. This transformation must be defined by equity, innovation and investment in a future where resilient societies and economies are powered by clean engines of growth.

I appreciate your contributions to this global momentum and towards our common climate and sustainable development goals.

I am confident that the steps we take today will further amplify and accelerate this momentum and fulfil the vision of a tomorrow we are proud to hand over to our children and their children.

Schemes aim at decarbonising El Salvador’s energy supply

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Schemes aim at decarbonising El Salvador’s energy supply

An inter-ministerial Dialogue has launched discussions on domestic climate finance needs for El Salvador’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and it’s National Climate Change Plan. Both plans aim at decarbonising El Salvador’s energy supply by increasing the use of renewable energy, while improving energy efficiency, land management, urban planning and transportation.

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Solar panels. Both plans aim at decarbonising El Salvador’s energy supply by increasing the use of renewable energy

The dialogue took place recently as part of El Salvador’s larger effort to assess domestic funding sources for national climate targets through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Programme, bringing together El Salvador’s Technical and Planning Secretariat of the Presidency, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vice-Ministry of Cooperation for Development.

Following the inter-ministerial Dialogue, UNDP led a three-day technical training on the investment and financial flows (I&FF) assessment, involving a team of more than 27 national and three regional experts from the target sectors and disciplines in public finance, private sector, economics and statistics, and NGOs and academia. The training allowed experts to systematically assess financial allocations for the NDC implementation by learning on how to break NDC targets down into specific action points, identify how financial flows can be structured more efficiently and determine the required level of financing for mitigation and adaptation measures. Over the coming months the national experts will carry out the assessments with assistance from regional experts and UNDP.

An I&FF assessment will help the Government of El Salvador determine domestic finance allocation and gaps for activities related to climate change. Carlos Gómez, GCF Readiness Programme Coordinator, stressed the importance of capacity building through the assessment of investment and financial flows, identifying what shifts in domestic investments may be necessary, what additional investments will be required, and what policies and incentives will be needed to achieve the national climate change goals.

In preparation for the assessment, the national Climate Finance Committee has been carrying out consultations with a range of ministries and institutions over the past months to select the five target sectors based on the INDC: Energy, Agriculture, Water, Infrastructure and Health. Participants agreed on the key parameters for the financial assessments, which are being rolled out both on the political and technical levels over the coming months.

The assessment is carried out under UNDP’s Green Climate Fund Readiness Programme, which aims to strengthen institutional and technical capacities to access climate finance, and runs in conjunction with El Salvador’s activities under the UNDP Low Emission Capacity Building Programme.

Biogaran takes over Swipha’s activities in Nigeria

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Biogaran takes over Swipha’s activities in Nigeria

Biogaran, a French pharmaceutical company specialised in generic and biosimilar medicines, on Friday, March 24, 2017 announced the takeover of all the activities of Swipha, a Nigerian company that manufactures and distributes pharmaceutical products. The firm sees the development as an important step forward in its internationalisation, as well as the development of new markets.

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Pascal Brière, President of Biogaran

The Biogaran portfolio is said to be mainly focused on three families of products: anti-anxiety and tranquillisers, antimalarial drugs and antibiotics, which treat Nigeria’s most widespread infections and health issues.

Swipha was the first Nigerian pharmaceutical company to obtain ISO 9001 certification in 2007. Approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2014, Swipha employs 300 people locally and generated record sales of N4 billion (approximately € 20 million) in 2012. Beyond its production unit, the company also has a wide distribution network covering most parts of Nigeria, with more than 184 million inhabitants in 2016, according to the IMF.

Health issues are particularly important in Africa. Beyond significant needs for good quality, affordable and efficient medicines, the problem of counterfeits is also becoming of concern. The WHO estimates that 100,000 deaths are due to fake medicines in Africa every year. In this context, supplying Nigeria’s population with reliable medicines that are produced locally is a strong commitment made by Biogaran.

“Biogaran’s international expansion strategy is to create synergies by bringing its expertise and investment capacity in production tools to existing structures,” commented Pascal Brière, President of Biogaran. “Swipha’s know-how, network and reputation have immediately convinced us that it was the right partner for us. Likewise, Nigeria quickly came out as the best entry point on the African continent with its strong population and solid economic fundamentals, including a very dynamic market economy.”

World Tuberculosis Day: TB Alliance sublicenses anti-tuberculosis drug

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World Tuberculosis Day: TB Alliance sublicenses anti-tuberculosis drug

Agreement announced on World Tuberculosis Day revitalises efforts to develop sutezolid as effective response to infectious disease killer

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Greg Perry, Executive Director of the Medicines Patent Pool. He says Sutezolid is the first tuberculosis drug in the group’s portfolio

On Friday, March 24 2017, the World Tuberculosis Day, TB Alliance and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) announced a licensing agreement for the clinical development of sutezolid, an antibiotic drug candidate which demonstrated encouraging results in early studies. The sublicense pertains to the development of sutezolid in combination with other TB drugs and follows the MPP’s license for the treatment signed with patent holder The Johns Hopkins University in January.

“There are precious few novel drugs available for TB therapy and therefore every promising new candidate is greeted with much enthusiasm,” said Dr. Mel Spigelman, President and CEO of TB Alliance. “With the additional positive results from our current clinical trials we can thoroughly vet sutezolid in a variety of potentially transformative new TB regimens.”

Sutezolid is in the same class of drugs as linezolid (oxazolidinones), which is used in some countries as a treatment option for drug-resistant TB (DR-TB). Tests conducted over the past decade have indicated that sutezolid may have a better therapeutic potential than linezolid.

“Sutezolid is the first TB drug in the Medicines Patent Pool’s portfolio, and we are pleased with TB Alliance’s swiftness in sublicensing the candidate,” said Greg Perry, Executive Director of the Medicines Patent Pool. “We are grateful to the civil society coalition that pushed for the clinical development of sutezolid. If further studies are successful, this product could be a game-changer in improving options for patients.”

MPP’s license with The Johns Hopkins University grants the MPP the rights to sublicense sutezolid to product developers interested in further developing the treatment for both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB, and to combine sutezolid with a wide variety of other drugs.

TB is the world’s top infectious disease killer. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 10.4 million people fell ill with TB and 1.8 million died from the disease in 2015. An estimated 580,000 patients were deemed eligible for MDR-TB treatment in 2015. According to the latest available data, the MDR-TB treatment success rate is only 52 percent.

“UNITAID strongly supports the TB Alliance-Medicines Patent Pool collaboration to jump-start the clinical development of the new tuberculosis treatment sutezolid,” said Lelio Marmora, Executive Director of UNITAID, the MPP’s funder. “This World Tuberculosis Day, we must re-double efforts to find better, faster-acting treatment solutions, especially for resistant forms of the disease.”

Musa steps down as Eagles assistant captain

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Musa steps down as Eagles assistant captain

Leicester City forward, Ahmed Musa, has stepped down as Super Eagles Assistant Captain.

Ahmed-Musa
Ahmed Musa plays for English Premiership side, Leicester City

He addressed the squad immediately after the team meeting to announce his decision, saying he wanted to focus on his game.

Reports on Thursday night say the captainship is affecting his game both at national team and at club levels.

This may not be unconnected with a decision made by Super Eagles manager Gernot Rohr that he wanted the team to be led by “a player who plays regularly”.

Musa, who is the first of two deputy captains along Ogenyi Onazi, has been overlooked by Rohr, who told the forward that Onazi would captain the team against Senegal, while left-back Elderson Echiejile would lead the team out against Burkina Faso.

But the move would have been humiliating to Musa, who was named substitute captain, after Vincent Enyeama retired, but was then diplomatically deposed by Samson Siasia, who handed the armband to John Obi Mikel.

Kelechi Iheanacho struck a late penalty as Nigeria drew 1-1 with Senegal in Bernet, London on Thursday night.

The Terranga Lions had taken the lead through Moussa Sow in the 54th minute and appeared destined for victory before Iheanacho fired home from the spot in the 81st minute after being brought down by Pape Ndiaye.

Nigeria’s next friendly match is against Burkina Faso on Monday in Barnet.

By Felix Simire

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