Starwin to produce anti-malarial drug (page 20)

Starwin Products Limited, a pharmaceutical company in Accra, is in the process of registering with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) to produce an anti-malaria drug as well as a drug for the treatment of diabetes.
The Chairman of the Board of Director of the company, Pastor Dr Mensa Otabil said the company had assembled enough raw and packaging materials to aggressively produce and market these products this year.
Addressing the fifth Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Starwin Products Limited in Accra yesterday, Pastor Otabil said to increase production, the company had started its syrup line operation and already introduced Paraking Syrup for babies.
He said the company had also re-introduced the Starwin Liversalt onto the Ghanaian market.
Present at the meeting were Mr Kwasi Yirenkyi, Managing Director (MD) of the company , Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, Mr Michael Addo, Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, Dr Albert Gyan Boohene, all directors and also Mr Mark Addo Otibo, Corporate Secretary.
Pastor Otabil said that the company had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Mampong Centre for Medical Research into Plant Medicine to convert some of the centres products into tablets and capsules for commercial purposes before the end of next year.
The Board Chairman said the MoU which was signed on June 30, this year was one of the measures the company was taking to increase its turnover and profits to enable it improve returns to shareholders.
Pastor Otabil explained that like many manufacturing companies, Starwin Products Limited had been negatively affected by the global economic downtown but gave the assurance that “we are confident of measures put in by management and its commitment to return the company to profitability by the end of 2009 and thereby rebuild shareholder value”.
In an interview, the Mr Yirenkyi who is the MD said the company was in the process of getting the needed machinery as well as the needed documentation in place to begin work with the Mampong Centre for Medical Research into Plant Medicine.
He stated that within the next two years, the company was likely to witness major changes which could increase its production.
An auditor’s report presented at the meeting indicated that the company had internal control system for identifying, managing and monitoring risks. It also explained that those controls were intended to provide reasonable assurance that the risks facing the company were being controlled.
In her contribution, a shareholder, Mrs Eunice Ametor-Williams suggested that invitation letters for meetings should be sent early enough to enable many shareholders attend such meetings.
She also said there was the need for the shareholders to be educated on shareholding since many got discouraged when they attend meetings and dividends were not discussed.