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Meet Valentin Agon, Pioneer of Local Cures Against Infectious Diseases in Benin

Categories: Sub-Saharan Africa, Benin, Breaking News, Development, Economics & Business, Good News, Health, Science

Valentin Agon is the creator of the Api-Palu pill, a locally produced remedy based on endemic plants. He was just awarded [1] [fr] the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) [2] Award for his new product against malaria. Pascal Hounkpatin reports for La Presse du Jour:

De la cueillette des feuilles au produit fini (gélules en boite), en passant par le contrôle de la qualité, la fabrication et le remplissage des gélules, rien n’a été caché. Pour Agon, Api-Bénin a la capacité technique de produire pour près de 4 milliards de nos francs par jour.

From the start of the process, picking leaves to the finished product (capsules in the box), via the quality control and the manufacturing, the entire process was revealed to the public. Agon asserts that Api-Benin has the technical capacity to produce nearly 4 billion CFA francs [about 45 million US dollars] of the product on a daily basis.

The inventor decided to give his prize money, 1 billion CFA francs (about 11 million) to the next winners of the inventors competition. Here is a video of Agon winning the ARC of Europe prize in 2010: