Pharma Jogot
(Porimol Palma): A Bangladeshi scientist has discovered a drug that can prevent the H5N1 virus from causing bird flu and influenza in humans and has the potential to cure pancreatic cancer. The formulation, the component of which is extracted from paddy husk, had already secured an international patent late last year, said the scientist, professor of biotechnology Mohammed Rahmatullah.
Mohammad Nurunnabi, a Bangladeshi Ph.D. student, and Prof Yong Kyu Lee of Korea National University of Transportation, who tested the crude drug on pigs and fish in Korea, are also parties to the patent. The drug can now be applied to birds, fishes, and shrimps, but for human use, it still needs clinical test, which is being conducted in Bangladesh, the USA, or Korea. Prof Rahmatullah said they would apply for approval from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Bangladesh Drug Administration following certain procedures.
Once the clinical test is done and it obtains approvals from FDA and Bangladesh Drug Administration, any company in Bangladesh can go for manufacturing the drug with the consent of the FDA, said Prof Rahmatullah, dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Development Alternative (UODA) in the capital.
“The drug can save millions of lives threatened by pancreatic cancer and the H5N1 virus,” he added.
UODA yesterday accorded Prof Rahmatullah a reception for his achievements in research and scientific innovation.
In an exclusive interview after the program, Prof Rahmatullah said during the last three years he had tested the non-toxic drug on poultry, fish, and shrimps in Bangladesh and came out successful.
“The drug works three to five times more effectively against influenza caused by H5N1 virus than the vaccine Tamiflu,” he said, adding that the formulation could save chickens from bird flu. The H5N1 virus can also cause death to people if it enters the human body.
The newly discovered crude drug would cost only Tk 150, whereas existing drugs can cost a lot more for a full human dose, said Prof Rahmatullah.
Also until now, no drug has been invented for the deadly pancreatic cancer, which is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and 12th worldwide.
“So the new drug brings in a huge hope to the world of medicine,” said Prof Rahmatullah, who did his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Hong Kong.
At least 387 scientific articles by Prof Rahmatullah have already been published in national and international journals.
He has taught at Dhaka University and worked as a researcher at Kansas State University, Auburn University, and Pennsylvania University in the USA. Before joining UODA in 2002, he used to teach at Khulna University.
The scientist said gaining an international patent meant the properties of the extract had been verified carefully.
The Kansas State University, USA, and the University of Tokyo, Japan had identified that the extract may have around 200 bio-active components, and were trying to test the effects of the components on different diseases, said Prof Rahmatullah.
Addressing the reception, University Grants Commission Chairman Prof AK Azad Chowdhury lauded the innovation, saying such researches were the universities’ major task, which should be promoted.
UODA Vice Chancellor Prof Emajuddin Ahamed, Founder-President Prof Mujib Khan, and Chairperson of the Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Prof Rownak Jahan, also spoke at the reception. (Source: The Daily Star)