sigmund Prof Patrick Ogwang might have never thought in his life that at one point he would be the talk of the country and moreover on issues pertaining to saving a country from being ravaged by a global pandemic.
However, as fate would have it, the Prof is now the talk of town due to his intention of the Covidex drug that has become a favorite among Ugandans.
The Professor is now set for showdown talks with the head of State, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
This revelation was made by the Vice President Hon Rtd Jessica Alupo.
The major reason for this meeting will be to discuss on the expansion of production of the drug in order to meet the continued rising demands.
Covidex was a few weeks ago certified by the National Drug Authority (NDA) to help in the alleviation of viral symptoms.
The herbal drug has indeed become a sensation among Ugandans with many people testifying to its effectiveness and in a time when COVID 19 is rampant, the drug is expected to assist massively in the fight against the virus.
Although Prof Ogwang is riding high on his invention, he’s embroiled in a legal battle that’s yet to gain momentum over the intellectual property rights of the drug.
The Prof together with his company Jena Herbals Limited which he’s using to produce the drug were dragged to court by a city lawyer George William Alenyo together with the Christian Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Tourism.
These say that Prof Ogwang is a public servant and produced the drug on government facilities and besides the project was funded by the government.
The Prof however refuted the claims saying his proposal was ignored by the government and only got funding from the former Minister of Science Dr Elioda Tumwesigye.
Prof Ogwang is not only battling these but Mbarara University of Science and Technology too.
The Vice Chancellor of MUST Prof Celestino Obua issued a stern warning to Jena herbals limited to stop producing Covidex unless authorised by the university.
The Prof said it’s the university with the intellectual property rights since the drug was invented using the university resources and staff.
Prof Ogwang however said that the University is doing this to illegally solicit for funds from the government.
