(Jamaica Observer) Jamaican scientist Dr Henry Lowe on Thursday night threw a lifeline to men worldwide when he announced that he had developed a formula that can reduce and eliminate prostate cancer, the number one cause of cancer deaths among males.
“I am pleased to announce that we have reached the final stages in the development of the Alpha Prostate Formula, which will be on the market in the next three months under the Eden Gardens brand,” Dr Lowe told guests at the launch of Bio-Tech R&D Institute at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston.
Lowe, executive chairman of Environmental Health Foundation which is based at his Eden Gardens complex in Kingston, explained that the formula will be locally produced, first as a nutraceutical.
“The drug takes time and millions of US dollars to develop, so that is why we’re making it available in its semi-purified form,” Dr Lowe told the Observer in an interview outside of the launch.
Dr Joseph Bryant from the University of Maryland Medical School and a shareholder in Bio-Tech R&D Institute, agreed. “We have to go by the rules and the regulations as to how fast we can get it out there, but the nutraceutical thing now allows us to get it out much faster,” he told the Observer.
“We cannot overemphasise the point of what this means for the country, and I hope that the younger generation will carry it on,” Dr Bryant added.
Lowe’s cancer research work attracted world attention when he announced that he had found properties in the Jamaican ball moss that had the potential to fight cancer.
On Thursday, he said that the formula is derived from the main ingredient in the ball moss and has been shown to have major prostate anti-cancer activity.
Jamaica has one of the highest prostate cancer rates in the world with approximately 150 men diagnosed each year. Medical experts believe that a large percentage of affected men are undiagnosed.
