Business News
Hope for Sickle Cell patients as May & Baker commences production of NAPRISAN
May & Baker Nigeria Plc has signed an agreement with NIPRD for the commercial production of NAPRISAN.
Published
3 years agoon

In a bid to provide treatment for people living with Sickle Cell Anaemia, a Nigerian pharmaceutical company, May & Baker Nigeria Plc has signed an agreement with the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) for the commercial production of NAPRISAN, an anti-sickle cell medication.
The agreement was signed by the Managing Director of May & Baker, Nnamdi Okafor and the acting Director General of NIPRD, Professor Olabayo Kunle, in the presence of the honourable minister for health, Professor Isaac Adewole.
NIPRISAN, an anti-sickle cell medication formula discovered by NIPRD, when produced will provide succour to numerous Nigerians living with sickle cell anaemia.
Okafor said, during the signing, that the company will prioritise the production of NAPRISAN on a commercial scale.
“We expect this product to be a commercial success and a leading product of our company as we intend to give it all the attention required”.
Analysts expressed optimism with NAPRISAN’s commercial production as it will positively affect May & Baker’s operational performance.
Recall that Nairametrics reported that a bid to raise capital for the purpose of financing the company’s refocused business model was approved by May & Baker’s shareholders at the 67th annual general meeting (AGM) held Lagos.
In 2016, during the economic recession, the company lamented the scarcity of forex that affected the importation of its raw materials for the manufacturing of vaccine locally, despite the Federal Government of Nigeria’s pronouncement of a special allocation of forex for manufacturing firms in the country.
May & Baker Nigeria Plc was incorporated in 1944 as Nigeria’s first pharmaceutical company. It has its origin in England, the United Kingdom in 1834, three chemists founded Grimwade, May & Pickett, a firm for manufacturing chemicals for pharmaceutical products.
Formerly know as May & Baker (West Africa) Limited, the company was a trading outpost to serve the West Coast of Africa. In 1976, it built its factory at Ikeja where it began local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. That same year it changed from May & Baker (West Africa) Limited to May & Baker Nigeria Limited.
The company is into manufacturing of pharmaceuticals like anti-diabetics, anti-hypertensive, anti-infectives, anti-malaria, analgesic, cough and cold medication, multivitamins, and anxiolytics. May & Baker also produces Mimee noodles, a product widely consumed by Nigerians, and Lily table water.
May & Baker Nigeria Limited became a publicly quoted company following its listing by introduction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on November 10, 1994, and became May & Baker Nigeria Plc.
May & Baker’s results for the First quarter ended March 2018 show revenue grew marginally from N2.36 billion in first quarter of 2017 to N2.37 billion in 2018. Profit before tax, however, surged from N35 million in Q1 2017 to N208 million in Q1 2018. Profit after tax grew in like manner from N24 million in Q1 2017 to N141 million in Q1 2018.
May & Baker Nigeria Plc stocks are currently valued at N2.45 on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the close of trading on Thursday.
Tech News
Twitter CEO auctions his first-ever tweet on Twitter, bidding at $2.5 million
Jack Dorsey is auctioning his first-ever tweet on a website that sells tweets as non-fungible tokens.
Published
9 hours agoon
March 7, 2021
Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey is auctioning his first-ever tweet on Twitter “just setting up my twttr” on a website that sells tweets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The tweet was listed for sale on ‘Valuables by Cent’ – a tweets marketplace that was launched three months ago. The tweet was first made in March 2006
The tweet received offers as high as $88,888.88 within minutes of Jack tweeting a link to the listing on” Valuables by Cent” on Friday.
Currently, bidding has reached $2.5 million (€2.1 million) indicating the potential in selling virtual objects that have been authenticated through blockchain technology.
The highest bid for the tweet — $2.5 million — came from Bridge Oracle CEO Sina Estavi. It topped cryptocurrency pioneer, Justin Sun’s $2 million bid.
The final buyer of the tweet will receive a certificate, digitally signed and verified by Jack Dorsey, as well as the metadata of the original tweet. The data will include information such as the time the tweet was posted and its text contents. Most of this information, however, is already publicly available.
According to Valuables by Cent’s terms, 95% of a tweet’s sale will go to the original creator while the remainder will go to the website.
What you should know
- NFTs is a unique digital certificate that states who owns a photo, video, or other forms of online media.
- Dorsey’s 15-year-old tweet is one of the most famous tweets ever on the platform.
- Bidding had reached $2.5 million (€2.1 million) on Saturday, indicating the potential in selling virtual objects that have been authenticated through blockchain technology.
- More people are currently bidding their tweets on the platform.
Stock Market
Bamboo’s current rate for buying U.S Stocks weakens to N492/$1
Bamboo is currently offering its users a premium of more than 20% compared to the official exchange rate.

Published
13 hours agoon
March 7, 2021
The fast-rising Nigerian stock broking application, Bamboo, is currently offering an exchange rate of N492 to the dollar.
About two weeks ago, the Nigerian stock trading app offered an exchange rate of about N484 to $1.
The green-colored trading app known for allowing local-based Nigerians to invest in stocks listed on the world’s biggest stock market (New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ) is currently offering its users a premium of more than 20% compared to the official exchange rate set by the Nigerian apex bank.
READ: Nigerian Bitcoin P2P surges by 15% since CBN Crypto ban
That being said, Nairametrics’s most recent research observed Chaka. ng offers the lowest exchange rate charge of N480 to 1$, other Nigerian-based stock trading apps that include Trove and Risevest currently offer their clients N491.68 and N486 to $1 respectively.
In addition, other leading fintech platforms reviewed by Nairametrics also presently offer exuberant rates as high as about N519 to a dollar, thereby adding more transaction costs on a significant number of Nigerians hoping to trade such financial assets.
A growing number of Nigerians are currently increasing their exposure to the U.S stock market taking to the current bearish trend that is being witnessed in the Nigerian Equity market and growing urge in hedging against the weakening local currency.
Consequently, a lot of Nigerians are flocking the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the account it has about 2,800 companies listed, while the NASDAQ has about 3,300 stocks listed. This gives Nigerian investors numerous options where they can invest their money. It is also why the US economy attracts billions of dollars in portfolio investments annually.
READ: Many Nigerians are trooping into foreign stock markets
Bamboo is an investment platform that gives Africans real-time access to invest in or trade over 3,500 stocks listed on the American and Nigerian exchanges right from their smartphones or personal computer.
In partnership with US-based Drive Wealth LLC, Bamboo provides seamless, secure access to US and Nigerian securities.
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