Godwin Haruna
18 November 2004
Lagos — A new drug, Lipitor, formulated to checkmate coronary heart disease and other associated ailments, was launched in Lagos last week by the multi-national pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Specialties Limited.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Dr. Bimbola Ogunkelu, former minister of cooperation and integration in Africa, who was chairman of the occasion, stated that coronary heart disease was a major killer in Nigeria.
High cholesterol level in the blood is a key factor in coronary artery syndrome or heart attack.
Ogunkelu said the problem was made more difficult for healthcare providers owing to the refusal of relations of deceased persons to allow them perform autopsy to ascertain cause of death.
He stated that although cholesterol was very important to human life, too much of it is also dangerous for human life.
The former minister therefore lauded Pfizer for bringing the world acclaimed product to Nigeria. Lipitor is a lipid-lowering drug that reduces elevated LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides and raises HDL-cholesterol in patients with high cholesterol.
In his address, Mr. Robert Tade, chief executive officer of Pfizer stated that the company has over 100 products in its research pipeline, which is the biggest in the world.
Tade noted that for over 35 years, Pfizer products have been undergoing clinical trials in Nigeria and the drugs have proved to be efficacious and potent adding that the delay in the launch of Lipitor was due to the clinical trials.
Professor Olabode Balogun, consultant cardiologist and HOD of College of Medicine, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, who was guest lecturer stated that heart disease and stroke are currently the leading cause of death in all economically developed and developing countries of the world.
Balogun said in 2003, there were 17 million deaths attributed to the disease with the developing countries producing 80 per cent.
He said hypertension and dyslipidaemia were the major risk factors for coronary heart disease.
The don stated that heart disease and smoking are currently the leading causes of death in all developed countries adding: "Many Africans are acquiring risk factors for coronary artery disease but we are not paying attention to the risk factors".
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