This archive report was first published on 21 July 2019.
Kenya National Innovation Agency (KNIA) has been awarded Sh4.5 million to support the development and marketing of a locally invented HIV-killing gel, UniPron.
According to KNIA acting chief executive Salome Guchu, the grant will be used to enhance the project's entrepreneurship capacity and develop the innovation into a viable business.
UniPron, which has been under development for 11 years, has the triple ability to kill HIV, immobilise sperms, and act as a lubricant.
It has been manufactured and commercialised by a local pharmaceutical company, with products such as Smugel, a lubricating gel, and Smuscan, an ultrasound gel, already in the market.
Smugel is used during sex, for lubricating surgical instruments, and in medical procedures like childbirth and prostate cancer examination, with an estimated local market value of about Sh1.3 billion annually.
Dr Peter Mwethera, the principal innovator, said that the team has already put some other lubricants in the market, including Smuscan, which is used in ultrasound scanning procedures.
Dr Mwethera added that the team is selling the products to the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority and putting them in retail drug shops, with encouraging feedback from customers.
UniPron is set to undergo clinical human trials, with the government hoping to get positive results to enable the product to be introduced to the market.
