UNICAL TO PRODUCE ARTEMISIA ANNUA

The University of Calabar today entered into a research and development collaboration with Calapharm Nigeria Limited, a wholy owned Cross River State Government Pharmaceutical Company. Explaining the terms of the collaboration when he visited the Vice-Chancellor in his office today, Mr. Farhan Khan, a Pakistani Consultant/Manager of the company said the deal will help Unical to genetically modify Artemisia Annua for local production. He also disclosed that the collaboration would involve the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad Pakistan and Anamed International EV as research partners.

Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Zana Akpagu, expressed profound gratitude to Mr. Khan for affording Unical the opportunity to extend the frontiers of research in genetic modification by making the institution a centre of excellence in this regard. He promised to mobilize all stakeholders concerned to get involved in the collaboration. Prof. Akpagu assured Mr. Khan that the collaboration would be approved in principle and that a meeting of the various departments involved would be convened as soon as possible to begin full-scale negotiations.

Also today, the contractor handling the Ultra-modern Unical Medical Centre, TABUCHIPAT, took over the project site and promised to begin work immediately.