Prof Patrick Ogwang, the owner of Jena Herbals Uganda Limited and inventor of the Covidex-19 treatment supplementary drug, Covidex has warned Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) to back off his innovations.
After attaining approval of the Uganda National Drug Authority (NDA), Ogwang has been using his company Jena Herbals Uganda Ltd, named after his mother to produce Covidex. However, he has faced resistance from Mbarara University which claims intellectual property rights of the product.
In his June 14 letter, Prof. Celestino Obua, MUST vice-chancellor, stated that Covidex is fully owned by the university, adding that Jena should desist from manufacturing the product unless the university permits.
Obua noted that Covidex was developed by MUST staff, including Prof Ogwang under Pharm-Biotechnology and Traditional Medicine Centre thus vowing to block Jena from undertaking mass production of the product.
Now, through his lawyers, Omongole and Company Advocates, Ogwang in June 9 letter says the university is illegally using his products to solicit funding from government through the ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
According to Ogwang, the university is not only clinging on Covidex, but also illegally using two other products of his company including Jena Ds Xtra, which is used to treat dry cough, sore throats, and rhinitis, and Artemune, a supplement for HIV patients.
"The contract between Mbarara University of Science and Technology and the ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation is formed on three Jena herbal products yet our client was neither involved nor informed. We deem this an illegal and fraudulent action by the university and urge the university not to go ahead with the said action without authorization of our client or Professor Ogwang personally," the notice from Omongole and Company Advocates reads in part.
Ogwang further warns that should the university keep a deaf ear over the matter, it will be held for property rights infringement. The notice to Mbarara University comes just hours after George William Alenyo, a lawyer, filed an application seeking High court orders to compel Ogwang to remit all monies collected from the sale of the popular supplementary treatment drug to the consolidated fund, claiming he's not the lawful proprietor of Covidex.
Alenyo, just like MUST, claims that Ogwang, a public servant, developed the product at the government of Uganda facilities and laboratories and with the staff of MUST and Pharma Bio Centre which makes the product a property of the government.
Appearing on Capital FM's Desert Island Discs program last week, Ogwang noted that he developed Covidex from a drug formula used for the treatment of wounds in the mouth and dental pain.
He noted that he worked with a group of his students at Mbarara university including Oloro Joseph, a student of pharmacology; Ajayi Clement from Nigeria; Angupale Jimmy from Arua, and another master's student Ivan Kaawa.
Ogwang said that although government supported scientists from different universities to come up with innovations during the Covid-19 pandemic last year, his application for the same was ignored.
He said even after directives from President Museveni last month to be financially supported so as to increase production of the in-demand Covidex, he has not received any support. Covidex is in such high demand in Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda that its price has spiked from Shs 1,5000 to prices ranging between Shs 30,000 and Shs 200,000 per 20ml bottle.
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