The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) has on Wednesday given Prof. Patrick Ogwang, the developer of Covidex a free investment license and five acres of land at Soroti Industrial park to set up a factory that will formally manufacture the herbal medicine.
The authority also gave Prof Ogwang a 10 year tax holiday.
The initiative is seen as critical in supporting the pathogenic economy and also scale up the production of Covidex to satisfy the increasing demand for Covid-19 herbal remedies within Uganda and across the borders.
“Our focus is on supporting local investors. We believe that our country can be built by ourselves,” said state minister for Investment and Privatization Evelyn Anite after she handed over the license, processed in a just one hour, to Jena Herbals Ltd, the makers of Covidex.
Recently, the National Drug Authority (NDA) approved Covidex as a supporting treatment for viral infections including Covid-19.
And during an interview with Capital FM Desert Island Discs a few weeks ago, Prof Ogwang, revealed that President Yoweri Museveni phone called him and promised to extend a financial boost towards his project.
“I told him I want security especially for the factory and for myself. I also told him I want the capacity to expand production. He told me he would connect me to Paul Lokech and Madam Nakyobe (Lucy) to handle the security and financing. He kept calling me every day to check on the progress,” Ogwang said.
He also noted that he is already manufacturing, producing and bringing to the market a minimum of 30,000 20mls bottles of his Covidex a day.
All this is being done from his Entebbe Road plot/small piece of land located in the Akright City which he converted to facilitate mass production of the vastly-demanded Covidex product.
The 48 year old further disclosed that he is humane and alive to the fact that majority of his fellow Ugandans are financially stressed which is why he is strictly selling to all NDA-approved pharmacies countrywide at at little as Shs5,000 per bottle.
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