Precardix: New anti-hypertensive food supplement launched
Precardix, a new medication that acts as food supplement but has anti-hypertensive properties has been launched in Accra.
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The drug, PreCardix, a naturally occurring product made from prawn shells, is a product of Marealis AS, a Norwegian company, and has already been approved for use by Health Canada, USA FDA; European Union's EFSA and Ghana's FDA.
It has been recommended for use in healthy adults who seek to maintain their cardiovascular health where medication has not been indicated.
Also, for adults seeking an effective and safe alternative natural product for supporting a healthy blood pressure, as well as adults with family history of hypertension seeking an affordable alternative natural solution without major side effects.
PreCardix
A Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Director at the National Cardiothoracic Centre, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) , Prof. Mark Tettey, who conducted a pilot intervention study on the drug among Ghanaians, said one was likely not to experience hypertension when they took PreCardix.
"But if you are pre-hypertensive, it is likely to help you normalise your pressure and if you have mild to moderate hypertension, it also helps to normalise it. When taking this medication, you are not likely to have side effects such as coughing that is associated with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors,” he said.
Production
Giving a background to the production of PreCardix, the Chief Executive Officer of Marealis AS, Andreas Semmingsen, said the company, which is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of cooked and peeled prawns in the world, focused on creating valuable natural products with specific health benefits from by-products from the fish industry.
He said the drug was produced without any artificial addictives, had been peer-reviewed and heavily invested in clinical trials to back up the product attribute.
It is an over the counter drug.
The launch of the food supplement in Accra last Wednesday attracted a number of personalities in the medical and pharmaceutical eco-system.
During the launch, a Consultant Neurologist and Head of Internal Medicine at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Professor Patrick Adjei, said there was a revolution going on around the world that Ghana and for that matter, Africa, must help push.
The revolution, which he termed organic revolution, was causing people to be interested in eating foods that they considered only to be healthy.
Describing the organic revolution as the future of medicine, Prof. Adjei said very soon, pills would become a thing of the past and people would be looking at substances that might occur naturally and have effect on the various conditions that they had.
"Food as medicine is where we are going now. Food as medicine is the future. Organic revolution is driving pills away. Everybody is now interested in eating healthy foods and when you look at it carefully, in the near future, people would be looking at the medicinal value of the food they eat," he said.
Norway businesses
A representative from the Norwegian Embassy, Robert Hovde, said it was encouraging to know that the product was made from something that would normally have been considered useless.
He said the company was a welcome addition to the Norwegian companies trying to do business in Ghana and Africa.