Africa-Press – Lesotho. The National University of Lesotho (NUL) Innovation Hub team of Scientists and experts working to develop the medications for the treatment of Covid-19 and influenza (flu) said they fear that lack of scientific
medicines accreditation bodies and infrastructures could pose them at the risk of ‘losing’ their work. The team told reporters in a virtual meeting last Wednesday.
As the global community was busy trying to find the treatment for the COVID-19 disease which broke in Wuhan city in China late 2019, the NUL was not an exception in this pursuit.
Dr. Lerato Seleteng-Kose, who is leading the team of Scientists, also the leader of the team of Scientists working under the Innovation Hub said as they do not have enough financial muscle to shoulder
the costs of taking their Covid-19 medication for further scientific trials they are thinking of going fifty-fifty with the South Africa (SA)’s Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) or pay them in tranches while the product remain exclusively Lesotho product. Of the other option, she said they have settled for a bilateral agreement wherein the
product will be equally owned by the two countries. She said the charges to go for pre-clinical trials fetch around M7 million, an amount which she said they
do not have at the moment. Pre-clinical trials will be conducted on animals such as monkeys and rats which are said to have almost similar anatomy to that of human beings.
The team said if the results prove positive, the sampling will be made to a certain number of human beings for clinical trials and if they satisfactorily pass the set requirements, a report will be compiled which
will be issued to the World Health Organisation (WHO) which, upon certifying such medication, will give them a green light to produce such medicine They said the medicine for treatment of
Covid-19 is underdevelopmentbut expressed hope saying it has passed the initial stage of trial tests. When preliminary tests were made, the samples for this COVID-19 treating medicine passed such tests as they treat the
symptoms of SARS-Cov-2, a virus which causes Covid-19 and the MERS-Cov which is said to result in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Dr. Seleteng-Kose,
also the Botanist said the Coronavirus outbroke at a time when NUL Scientists were busy developing the influenza (flu) medication. The Chemical Technologist and Traditional Practitioner
Motiki Beleme, also the brain behind the background of working with traditional herbs in the medicine said he fears the prospects of being hard done by SA.
Beleme said he is unperturbed by the idea of the bilateral agreement which will see the ownership of the medicine by the two states. “I need contractual agreement,” he stressed
appealing to people who can donate towards this project. Also, the team has developed the Opti Cough medicine said to treat respiratory ailments such as coughs, colds and flu.
This medicine the team has indicated that it has in its container the dosage and the list of ingredients. The team said despite being for flu, Opti Cough could treat some of the Covid-19 signs as its
patients exhibit similar signs to those of the person suffering from flu. Dr. Seleteng-Kose mentioned that they had gone the scientific route with the development of this traditional herbs infused
medicine. For now they said it is still available in the country and they are unable to export it as the country has no standards accrediting it for international markets.
They said despite getting calls for people who want it in other countries, the lack of standardisation and accreditation facilities had dealt a blow on their part as
their product is not internationally “recognised”. She said the medicine will be tested on animals whose anatomies are almost similar to those of human beings and they
will be monitored how they respond. She said as they are experiencing financial constraints, the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology (MCST) had
foot the bill of about M100, 000 in July last year when the medicine was shipped out for tests by the CSIR in the neighbouring country. Expressing confidence, the Botanist said
the results confirmed those of the NUL’s Pharmacy department which established that it is non-toxic in the preliminary tests. “We need a very big testing laboratory in the
country, such that we have capacities and capabilities,” she said. She added: “we don’t have accredited testing laboratories. ” The team leader added that the
report from the CSIR heaped praises for the NUL’s research work. Meanwhile, the Minister of Health Hon. Motlatsi Maqelepo said the Ministry is “willing to invest” in the Covid-19
medicine should there be a “request” extended. “We are willing to support them and work with them all the way,” he said. He also said, the Ministry of Health (MoH) is willing to solicit funds for this initiative provided they are brought on board.
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