KIU, Western Campus – The Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU) has given a donation to the KIU Western School of Pharmacy to aid it in the local production of pharmaceutical grade microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) from maize cobs.

This project, which PSU is undertaking with 3 universities including KIU, Makerere University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology, is aimed at adding value to maize cobs to produce quality MCC, a vital ingredient in the manufacture of drugs, food and cosmetic products.

The project was initiated through a letter written by the President of PSU Pamela Achii in May 2021 to the then Deputy Vice-Chancellor of KIU Western Campus, Prof. Patrick Kyamanywa.

“The council (of PSU) has mandated the Education and Grants Committee led by its Chair, Dr. Jonans Tusiimire, to undertake a proposed project on local production of pharmaceutical grade microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) from maize cobs,” Achii wrote in the letter, dated 14th, May 2021.

And on March 18, a team from PSU delivered an assortment of equipment and products to the School of Pharmacy to aid it in implementing the project.

The donation will help the School to extract and purify MCC, quality control testing of the MCC powder and prototype formulations and general reproducibility studies.

The donation was received by the Dean, School of Pharmacr Dr. Sharon Igbinoba.