Xechem Nigeria, which received regulatory approval for Nicosan on July 3rd, 2006 from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control of Nigeria (NAFDAC), has been producing the drug in limited quantities at its pilot scale facility in Abuja, Nigeria.
In the light of the higher than anticipated demand for the drug the company has accelerated the construction schedule for the company’s new state-of-the-art commercial scale production facility.
According to the company, the new commercial scale facility will have capacity to meet the demand of Nigeria and other African countries. Nigeria alone has four million sickle cell disease patients. The new facility will also be able to supply the drug for the clinical trials in the US and the European Union.
“Getting Nicosan approved for the prophylactic management of sickle cell disease was a major milestone which changes Xechem from a R&D company to a full scale business venture with Nicosan to market,” said Dr Ramesh Pandey, chairman and CEO of the Xechem Companies.