NDA Clears Kazire’s Herbal Research – Set to Produce Drugs for treatment of Ulcers, Flu, Swine Fever in Pigs

MBARARA: Kazire Health Products in Mbarara City, has been cleared by the National Drugs Authority (NDA) to scale up its herbal drugs research program.

This means that the factory, known for its range of health and nutritional beverages, will soon start manufacturing herbal drugs for human treatment.

“We have finally got a license to manufacture drugs. We now join the club of Rene Industries, Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries, Cipla Quality Chemicals, etc,” Mr. Sedrack Atuhaire, the firm’s Coordinator for Research and Development, wrote to ResearchFinds yesterday.

Based in the Mbarara City of western Uganda, Kazire Health Products factory produces an array of health drinks such as Kazire Orange Tea Drink, Kazire Lemon Green Tea Drink, Kazire VIT Fruit Drink, Kazire Aloe Green Tea Drink, and Kazire Mineral Water, among others.

The firm has received two certifications.

The first one dated August 5, 2022, authorizes the firm to manufacture liquids from herbal products into ‘Finished Pharmaceutical Products.’ It expires on December 31, 2024. 

The second one also dated August 5, 2022 and expiring on December 31, 2024, clears the manufacturing space and gazettes the factory is hygienic for the production of pharmaceutical products.

Specifically, it says: “This is to certify that the premises named Kazire Health Products Limited, are considered suitable for carrying on the business of manufacturing of drugs.”

“These are the most complex documents to get. We had to change everything at the factory. If any Ugandan came to visit us today, the set-up is very different,” wrote Mr. Atuhaire.

How it all started:
He revealed that the process started last year in August and has cost the firm millions of money in terms of putting in place the requirements to merit certification.

“It all started August 2021, with the inspection of the factory by the National Drug Authority team,” Mr. Atuhaire said when we inquired about the process that led to this certification.

 He revealed that the firm has since sent a total of USD 250,000 or Uganda shillings 900,000,000/- for drug research and facility upgrade,” says Mr. Atuhaire.

The process has seen the factory upgrade its current processing lines and ensure that the level of hygiene and sanitation is the finest. They have had to ensure that a well-trained staff including pharmacists, Quality Control Expert, and Quality Assurance experts plus other teams of technicians and assistants working under them are all in place.

“This will give us an age in the drug manufacturing industry,” he said confidently.

The Drugs:
The firm is planning to manufacture three drugs: The first one is called ‘Vidicine’ for treatment of flu, cough, and sore throat. The second drug is called ‘Alston.’  This one is earmarked for treatment of peptic ulcers and the third one known Varoxi is being researched for treatment of African swine fever in pigs.

“All these herbal drugs will be standardized to international level, the way you see Quinine. This means, all our drugs will undergo Clinical Trials before being subjected to mass production,” Mr. Atuhaire promised.

He said the innovation behind these drugs started in during the Covid 19 outbreak when treatment for Flu, Cough, and Sore Throat became apparent. So far, the drug for flu is undergoing Clinical Trials under Makerere University Lung Institute and has reached Phase II.

The Alston drug is currently under assessment with the NDA and once this stage is concluded, it will be adopted by the Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation for Clinical Trials.

“We are also in touch with Makerere University Department of Veterinary Medicine and Uganda Virus Research Institute for Varoxi,” Mr. Atuhaire reveals.

He said the firm hopes to supply the whole country and the international market once these drugs pass the test.

“There is a possibility of manufacturing the drugs and selling them with only Notification from National Drug Authority even before they are subjected to Clinical Trials. However, we only go for Clinical trials to prove beyond reasonable doubt and establish a degree of scientific certainty that a drug treats what it is supposed to treat and has no harm to human life. After this level, we can even export to other countries in the region,” he emphasized.

The Story of Kazire Health Products:

The story of Kazire Health Products Limited is synonymous with its founder, Dr. Edward Kazaire, a Chemist, Researcher, and Catechist in the Roman Catholic Church.

With remarkable spirit, tenacity, faith, passion, sweat, and prayer, Dr. Kazaire is a household name in the health drinks industry in Uganda.

“He has carved for himself a business empire that’s now estimated at over Shs15 billion shillings, making him one of the youngest billionaires in Ugandan shilling terms and a millionaire in US dollars,” writes kikubolane.com, a business news online website.

The website says he chose the brand name Kazire in honor of his grandfather who once built a big business out of motorcades in the 1960s. His company, Kazire Herbal Products directly employs over 200 people and indirectly over 5,000 people.

His gigantic factory that stands in Mbarara town produces over 800 cartons of health drinks per day extracted from lemons, pineapples, oranges, green tea, aloe vera, and more than 100 other traditional herbs from his own gardens, local farmers, and out growers.