Peace Standard Pharmaceutical Industries is a limited liability company duly registered with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) presently with category A line registration.
Peace Standard Pharmaceutical Industries is a limited liability company duly registered with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) presently with category A line registration.
Stephanie Conway, PharmD, RPh, Associate Professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences—Worcester/Manchester, discusses the links between ophthalmic conditions, over-the-counter ophthalmic products, and pharmacists. This video was filmed at the 2019 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Annual Meeting in Chicago.
Stephanie Conway, PharmD, RPh: There are many different ophthalmic conditions that patients might go to your local pharmacy to seek over-the-counter or self-care medications for. Some of these might include allergic conjunctivitis, various types of dry eye, blepharitis, contact lens-related concerns, and even on the flipside, many medications can contribute to some of these ocular conditions, and so there really is a very close tie between ophthalmic products, ophthalmic conditions, and the role of a pharmacist.
In a discovery that may further the understanding of diabetes and human longevity, scientists at Scripps Research have found a new biological mechanism of insulin signaling. Their study, involving the roundworm C. elegans, reveals that a “decoy” receptor is at work in binding to insulin molecules and keeping them from sending signals for increased insulin production.
The study appears in the journal eLife. It describes a new player in the insulin signaling system, one that may offer insights into insulin resistance, a feature of type 2 diabetes. The scientists are now assessing whether a similar decoy exists in humans. If so, it could present a new target for diabetes treatment and prevention research.
This truncated, ‘decoy’ receptor that we’ve found adds yet another layer of complexity to our understanding of insulin signaling.”
Matthew Gill, PhD, lead author, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research in Florida
In an associated commentary, Princeton University geneticist Coleen Murphy, PhD, writes that the discovery shocks, given how well-studied insulin signaling is.
“It would be hard to overstate the importance of a receptor called DAF-2 to our understanding of aging and longevity,” Murphy writes. “The discovery…raises new questions and will change how we think about DAF-2’s role in insulin signaling regulation of aging and longevity.”
Insulin is a hormone of ancient and fundamental importance to animals, and insulin-like proteins are found even in simpler organisms such as bacteria, fungi and worms. In humans, it acts as a signal to key cell types, directing them to pull in glucose from the blood. This helps maintain cellular energy stores and keeps blood sugar within a safe range. Type 2 diabetes, which is estimated to affect more than 30 million people in the United States, features a failure of insulin signaling to reduce blood glucose levels.
Since the 1990s researchers have recognized that insulin signaling is also an important regulator of longevity. For example, mutations in the gene that encodes the C. elegans insulin receptor DAF-2 can more than double the worm’s lifespan.
Gill and his colleagues focused on a variant form of the C. elegans receptor known as DAF-2B. It’s a truncated version that contains the usual binding site for insulin, but doesn’t respond as the normal version would by sending a cellular signal to initiate insulin production.
The team confirmed that the gene for DAF-2B is active throughout the worm lifespan, and they used CRISPR gene-editing technology to tag the receptor with a fluorescent molecule and thus track its location in the worm body. From these experiments it became apparent that DAF-2B is secreted from the cells that produce it into the space surrounding the tissues of the worm, acting as a decoy to capture insulin molecules and thereby reduce insulin signaling.
“Normally insulin molecules float around and interact with insulin receptors to create insulin signals, but when they bind to these decoy receptors, they generate no signal, so producing these decoys appears to be a way to modulate insulin signaling,” Gill says.
The scientists found that overproducing DAF-2B could tip worms into a semi-dormant state that normally occurs when food is scarce and insulin signaling is low. Overproduction of DAF-2B increased worm lifespan as well.
Although the discovery of this mechanism for regulating insulin signaling is a significant basic-science advance, it also suggests a new way of thinking about diabetes and even aging. The precise causes of the insulin resistance that underlies diabetes and is also seen to some extent with normal aging have never been fully illuminated.
“One possibility is that insulin resistance is caused by the abnormal overproduction of a truncated, ‘decoy’ insulin receptor like the one we’ve found,” Gill says.
DAF-2B is produced from the same gene as the DAF-2 receptor, and results when the RNA transcript that is copied out from the gene is sliced and re-spliced in an alternative form. This alternative splicing process is known to occur for many genes, but Gill notes that it is often dysregulated with aging or certain kinds of disease.
“You can imagine that in the prime of life, splicing and expression of this truncated isoform, DAF-2B, is tightly regulated, but then with a broader change in the splicing system due to disease or aging it becomes dysregulated and leads to insulin resistance,” Gill says.
If so, and if humans also have a decoy insulin receptor like DAF-2B, then reversing its dysregulation in people who have insulin resistance might be a new strategy for better metabolic health.Source:
Martinez, B.A., et al. (2020) An alternatively spliced, non-signaling insulin receptor modulates insulin sensitivity via insulin peptide sequestration in C. elegans. eLife. doi.org/10.7554/eLife.49917.
ABOUT THE
BBC DOCUMENTARY ON COUGH SYRUP CONTAINING CODEINE
The Company is aware of the BBC documentary on the abuse of Cough syrup containing codeine and has carefully watched all the contents therein.
The two investigators in the documentary placed a call to the Superintendent Pharmacist on the 4th of March, 2018 portraying themselves as business people and requesting an appointment to discuss how they could distribute our Pharmaceutical PRODUCTS generally.
They were given an appointment to meet the Pharmacist in the factory on morning of 5th of March, 2018.
They were warmly welcomed into the factory because the Company is a customer friendly company.
They spent about 30 minutes with our Pharmacist as against the less than 2 minutes portrayed in the documentary.
They started by discussing how they could distribute our Pharmaceutical Products until they narrowed their discussion down to distribution of our Cof ‘n’ cold with codeine syrup.
The Pharmacist told them he is ready to do business with them on the condition that they legally register a Pharmacy outlet.
He also educated them on how a Pharmacy outlet is being open and that a Pharmacist needs to be employed who will be the only person our company can do business with just like any other registered Pharmacy outlet and that only a Pharmacist can represent the company in any dealings relating to Pharmaceuticals.
At no time did the Pharmacist agreed to sell the product to them or even show them a sample of the product even when he was persuaded and when the interviewers tried to maneuver him.
The Pharmacist eventually left them in his office and they left the factory unceremoniously.
After that episode, the Pharmacist neither called them nor have any form of contact with them thereafter.
At this juncture, we wish to state that based on the statistics presented in the documentary that over 3,000,000 bottles of cough syrup containing codeine are consumed every day, Peace Standard Pharmaceutical Industries produce less than 0.2% of this value.
We also wish to state that we at Peace Standard Pharmaceutical feel that the documentary was targeted towards rubbishing the good work of Federal Government, NAFDAC, PCN and other related bodies who have strived hard over the years in regulating us to the best of their ability.
In addition, we want to include that our company takes distribution of our Products seriously especially Cof’ n’ cold with codeine syrup. This has led us to easily detect even when the faked version of the product is being sold through our internal mechanisms.
On two occasions, we have arrested and handed over fakers of this Cof ‘n’ cold with codeine syrup to NAFDAC: the first faker has since been jailed and the other still being prosecuted.
Peace Standard Pharmaceutical has also in various form contributed to programs aimed at reducing drug abuse. The company has a yearly budget for programs targeted toward drug abuse. We have partnered with bodies like NDLEA, PSN, Ministry of Health, NAFDAC and others in many programs related to reducing drug abuse in the society.
ABOUT THE
CLOSURE OF THE COMPANY
Peace Standard Pharmaceutical Industries Limited is a company duly registered by the Pharmacists’ Council of Nigeria, NAFDAC and Corporate Affair Commission.
We are not in any form an illegal Company manufacturing illegal product as portrayed by some media houses.
We read in various media that the reason for the closure of the company by NAFDAC on the 7th of May, 2018 was because the company resisted inspection and did not present all necessary document requested.
We wish to state in response to the above that NAFDAC officials were in our factory on the 2nd of May, 2018.
The Company welcomed them warmly and assured them that we are ready to cooperate with them.
The Officials were allowed entry to ALL areas they wished to inspect without any form of resistance whatsoever.
The Officials were also presented with ALL the documents they requested for and the company made photocopies of some of those documents for the Officials as requested by them without any form of resistance whatsoever.
The Officials verbally commended the Company for our high level of cooperation after the whole exercise and expressed their joy that we did not pose any form of resistance whatsoever.
The Company also cooperated fully with the Officials on their second visit to the Company on the 7th of May, 2018: The day they closed down the company.
Despite the fact that the company had closed business for the day before the arrival of the official, we called back all the necessary officers of the company to return to the factory to attend to the NAFDAC Officials.
We also cooperated with them fully throughout the process of closure of the company and the officials also acknowledged our cooperation.
At no time was there any form of resistance from our Company.
The Company thereafter faced a high powered investigative committee set up by NAFDAC on the issue and the committee to a large extent cleared our company of allegations leveled against us.
Subsequently, the company was opened five days after it was initially closed and the company has been operating in full capacity ever since then.
Peace
Standard Pharmaceutical Industries Limited is a responsible company that has
been in existence since 2003.
The company
registers with the Pharmacists’ Council of Nigeria every year.
All our
products are duly registered with NAFDAC
Our company
abides by the rules governing operation of Pharmaceutical companies.
We
distribute all our Products to ONLY accredited Pharmacy outlets who are duly
registered by the Pharmacists’ Council of Nigeria.
We import
our Codeine Phosphate hemihydrate according to the dictates of NAFDAC who
issues us Authorization to import and later Permit to clear when the substance
eventually arrives the Country.
ABOUT THE
BBC DOCUMENTARY ON COUGH SYRUP CONTAINING CODEINE
The Company is aware of the BBC documentary on the abuse of Cough syrup containing codeine and has carefully watched all the contents therein.
The two investigators in the documentary placed a call to the Superintendent Pharmacist on the 4th of March, 2018 portraying themselves as business people and requesting an appointment to discuss how they could distribute our Pharmaceutical PRODUCTS generally.
They were given an appointment to meet the Pharmacist in the factory on morning of 5th of March, 2018.
They were warmly welcomed into the factory because the Company is a customer friendly company.
They spent between 15 to 30 minutes with our Pharmacist as against the less than 2 minutes portrayed in the documentary.
They started by discussing how they could distribute our Pharmaceutical Products until they narrowed their discussion down to distribution of our Cof ‘n’ cold with codeine syrup.
The Pharmacist told them he is ready to do business with them on the condition that they legally register a Pharmacy outlet.
He also educated them on how a Pharmacy outlet is being open and that a Pharmacist needs to be employed who will be the only person our company can do business with just like any other registered Pharmacy outlet and that only a Pharmacist can front for the company in any dealings relating Pharmaceuticals.
At no time did the Pharmacist agreed to sell the product to them or sell the product to them or even show them a sample of the product even when he was persuaded and when the interviewers tried to maneuver him.
The Pharmacist eventually left them in his office and they left the factory unceremoniously.
After that episode, the Pharmacist neither called them nor have any form of contact with them thereafter.
At this juncture, we wish to state that based on the statistics presented in the documentary that over 3,000,000 bottles of cough syrup containing codeine are consumed every day, Peace Standard Pharmaceutical Industries produce less than 0.2% of this value.
We also wish to state that we at Peace Standard Pharmaceutical feel that the documentary was targeted towards rubbishing the good work of Federal Government, NAFDAC, PCN and other related bodies who have strived hard over the years in regulating us to the best of their ability.
In addition, we want to include that our company takes distribution of our Products seriously especially Cof’ n’ cold with codeine syrup. This has led us to easily detect even when the faked version of the product is being sold through our internal mechanisms.
On two occasions, we have arrested and handed over fakers of this Cof ‘n’ cold with codeine syrup to NAFDAC: the first faker has since been jailed and the other still being prosecuted.
Peace Standard Pharmaceutical has also in various form contributed to programs aimed at reducing drug abuse. The company has a yearly budget for programs targeted toward drug abuse. We have partnered with bodies like NDLEA, PSN, Ministry of Health, NAFDAC and others in many programs related to reducing drug abuse in the society.
Today, Peace Standard Pharmaceutical Industries Limited is into manufacturing of More than 35 Products with product lines including Anagestics, antimalarial, vitamins, antidiarrhoea, hematinics, antacids, expectorants, nasal decongenstants, antibiotics and corticosteriods. All the products being manufactured are duly registered with National Agency for Drug Administration and control (NAFDAC).
