By CrossRiverWatch Admin
The University of Calabar yesterday entered into a research and development collaboration with Calapharm Nigeria Ltd, a wholy owned Cross River State Pharmaceutical Company situated along the Goodluck Jonathan Bye-pass, Calabar.
Explaining the terms of the collaboration during a visit to the Vice-Chancellor, Mr. Farhan Ahmad Khan, a Pakistani Consultant/Manager of the company, said, the deal will help UNICAL to genetically modify Artemisia Annua for local production.
He said the partnership will involve the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan and Anamed International EV as research partners for genetic modification and cultivation of medicinal plant Artemisia Annual in Nigeria.
Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Zana Akpagu, expressed profound gratitude to Mr. Khan for the opportunity to extend the frontiers of research in genetic modification by making UNICAL a center of excellence in this regard.
He promised to mobilize all the stakeholders concerned to get involved in the collaboration.
He told Mr. Khan that the collaboration would be approved in principle and that a meeting of the various departments involved would be convened immediately to begin full-scale negotiations.
Also yesterday, the contractor for the Ultra-modern Unical Medical Center, TABUCHIPAT, took over the project site and promised to begin work immediately.