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The Federal Government has solicited cooperation of the People's Republic of China in the development of herbal medicine in Nigeria.
It said both countries had a lot in common in terms of medicinal herbs, but Nigeria has some lessons to learn from Chinese Phamaceutical companies who have been able to transform their natural endowments in traditional medicine into exportable pharmaceutical products. Minister of State for Health, Architect Gabriel Aduku, made the request at the 2007 Distributors' Award ceremony of Tasly World Nigeria Company Limited in Abuja. Aduku expressed appreciation at the contributions of Tasly Group, one of the biggest pharmaceutical firms in China, since its inception in Nigeria, adding that the company had shown that traditional medicine could be refined and marketed as international brands while generating employment for thousands of people. He urged the company to continue to empower Nigerians in its employ, marketing its products and more importantly, establish a production plant in Nigeria in the next few years, to challenge traditional medicine practitioners to enter into partnership with their Chinese counterparts in the development of indigenous herbal medicine. The award ceremony, which was attended by no fewer than 2,000 distributors from different states of Nigeria, witnessed the splash of gifts and plaques to individuals who distinguished themselves in the marketing of Tasly herbal products in Nigeria. Eight brand new Chevroletcars worth N14, 000,000 was given out to eight outstanding distributors as a reward for their excellent performances during the 2006/2007 trading year. Other lucky winners went home with laptops mobile phones, digital cameras, audio speakers, DVD player and MP4 players. Managing Director, Tasly World Nigeria Limited, Mr. Alex Zhang Yang applauded the distributors and urged them to work harder in the years ahead. Zhang said that the chain of distributors of the products had grown from zero to over 40,000 in just one year and attributed the company's success story on the support it received from the Nigerian people as well as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Dora Akunyili disclosed that the Tasly World range of Traditional Chinese Medicine which has been in Nigeria for about two years has earned the regulatory agency's endorsement following the laboratory analysis that confirms that the over 20 herbal products were NAFDAC compliant. Akunyili also urged the company to take more than a passing interest in Nigeria by establishing a production plant in Nigeria to serve the country and the West African sub region.
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China Pharma News 