UGMC to establish unit for trial of medicines

The University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) is to establish a clinical trials unit and laboratory for trials of new medicines in the country. 

The facility would carry out the entire process of testing the efficacy of medicines, including analysing relevant blood samples locally rather than in South Africa.

The unit, which is expected to start operating next year, will be the first in the country and in the West Africa sub-region.

This was announced at the fifth anniversary launch of the UGMC and a $5million fundraiser for the trials unit in Accra yesterday.

The Chief Executive Officer of the UGMC, Dr Darius Osei, appealed to corporate organisations and individuals to support the centre finance the project.

“Most clinical trials for medicines are done in South Africa.

We do not have any in the sub-region, and we want to have the facility here.

“Most samples by the time they get to South Africa are not viable, but if we have it here, we have the opportunity to do our own trials and most drug manufacturers could use the samples to manufacture medicines that are suitable to our environment,” he said.

The CEO said that most people do not respond to certain drugs because the trials for such drugs were done somewhere.

Achievements

Dr Osei said the centre in the past five years had made some strides and established itself as a leading institution for world-class patient care, training and research.

He mentioned some of its successes to include an agreement between the government and the University of Ghana for a mutually acceptable ownership structure; increased infrastructural development and conducted several open-heart surgeries, brain surgeries and catheterisations of adults and children.

Others are laparoscopic surgeries, MRI services, dental services and the setting up of the second biggest cardiothoracic centre in the country, the Cardiac Catheterisation Lab.

“Through our focus on infrastructure development, specialised training programmes, cutting-edge research initiatives, strategic partnerships and community engagement, the UGMC has been transformed into a leading academic medical centre in the country,” he added.

Ineffective drugs

The Director, Medical and Scientific Research at UGMC, Prof. George Boateng Kyei, said some blood pressure medications were not effective in black people because the initial trials for such drugs were not done with blacks but rather with Europeans or the Americans.

He said Africa, compared to the rest of the world, had more genetic diversity for which it should be at the forefront of trials.

The director said two things were needed to conduct trials - a dedicated place on a ward and an international standard organisation and a certified laboratory, which he said the centre had complied with.

“When we get this laboratory done, it will help prevent the situation where samples are taken and sent to South Africa.

It comes back in two weeks and is not useful to the doctor anymore.

So we need to be able to do these things here,” he added.