After formulating a once-a-year ARV injection in 2020, Kenyan trailblazing scientist Prof Benson Edagwa has now developed a similar medication for Hepatitis B.
Existing chronic Hepatitis B drugs must be taken daily for a year or longer. But Edagwa and his team have come up with an injection that will be given once in four months.
The researchers have chemically modified Tenofovir, one of the daily pills taken to manage Hepatitis B, into an injection that is given once but remains active in the body for four months.
The new formulation is a game-changer for patients suffering from the disease. Kenya has about one million Hepatitis B patients according to the Ministry of Health.
Edagwa is a chemistry graduate from Moi University. He was born in Vihiga county but now works as a researcher with the University of Nebraska Medical Centre.
Researchers like Edagwa need the support of the government to come up with solutions to the myriad challenges Kenya faces.
From food insecurity to climate change, expensive equipment for medical diagnosis and experiments and support in many other fields are required to harness the knowledge of our people for the benefit of society.
Quote of the Day: “One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, and compassion.”
Simone de Beauvoir
The French writer was born on January 9, 1908
