Elbe Pharma unveils Amatem Forte Softgel

Adedayo Adejobi

Elbe Pharma Nigeria Limited, a leading drugs manufacturing company in Nigeria recently unveiled Amatem Forte Softgel- an innovative product derived from the normal Artemether Lumefantrine tablets.

The unveiling of the product was well attended by medical experts at the MRC Hall of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

According to a lecturer at the Department of Pharmacology, Lagos State University, Dr. Omoniyi Yemitan, “It is expected that most of the drugs we take get to the blood stream, which is what we call bioavailability. From the research on bioavailability, it was discovered that Amatem Softgel is more present in the bloodstream than the tablets. The implication is that can quickly attack malaria parasite in the bloodstream, than tablets”.

Speaking on the findings of a comparative study conducted on the bioavailability, efficacy and toxicity of Amatem Forte Softgel and another known brand of Artemeter –Lumefantrine tablet formulation, by a group of researchers from LASUTH, Yemitan noted that Amatem Softgel was found to be more present in the blood stream than other brands of malaria tablets.

He however stated that the toxicity study of Amatem Softgel did not reveal any side effects of the drug on patients, and thus urged the pharmaceutical company to do an extension of the toxicity study in the future. “The study was focused on how much of the product is found in the blood stream and its effectiveness in treating malaria, and these showed significant positive results”.

The Managing Director, Elbe Pharma Nigeria Ltd., Sir Uchenna Obiakor stated that in a bid to reduce the prevalence of malaria in the country, the efficacy of the drug with the level of demand for the product the company gets daily is a positive progress. He said: “People have started testifying about the efficacy of the product.”

Obiakor, on the affordability of the product to the Nigerian populace, said they have tried so much to ensure that everyone can afford the product, not minding the high technology used in producing it.

“Yes we have done tremendous work on this to ensure that the masses can easily afford the product. The technology is quite different from that of the tablet, and going by this technology, it may be difficult for a lot of people to afford it, but we tried as much as we can to reduce the price, to ensure that every Tom, Dick and Harry can afford it. It is easily affordable, compared to the therapeutic benefits derived from the formulation.

In his contribution, the Brand Manager, Elbe Pharma, Mr Augustine Aisabokhale, stated that “Amatem Softgel is an innovative product, with lot of benefits for patients that are not derivable from normal Artemether- Lumefantrine tablets.

Amatem Softgel does not have any report regarding side effects. It is also affordable, though it is more capital intensive to produce, regarding the technology behind the production. However, it is not bitter, and easy to swallow. We have tried as much as possible to reduce the price to the barest minimum for the affordability of the masses”, he stated.