Three researchers from Machakos have petitioned the Senate seeking protection of their rights to research and commercialize a traditional, non-animal plasma anti-venom, citing hostility from government agencies including the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).
- •Patrick Musilu, Tom Babu, and Alfred Dosso claimed that a KEMRI official allegedly demanded an unethical payment of KSh 100,000 for antivenom samples and a partnership request in 2021, leading to the rejection of research funding for the petitioners’ New Generation Muthea Antivenom.
- •The petitioners also report alleged abuse of office and obstruction of their patent rights, with a failed mediation attempt by the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission’s erroneous referral.
- •In the petition, the researchers have petitioned Parliament to protect their commercialization rights and investigate alleged unlawful denial of service and mismanagement by the institutions.
“The petition seeks to ensure the innovators’ rights are protected, investigate misconduct by public officials, suspend any officials found to be obstructing justice and establish national protections and policy for indigenous innovation,” Busia Senator, Okiya Omtatah, said in the Senate.
Omtatah said the innovators have endured coercive demands to surrender their patent and formula, along with threats and legal intimidation from shadowy figures with vested interests. He added that public officials have weaponized red tape to delay approvals, while coordinated smear campaigns have sought to discredit their work and deny them institutional support.
According to the researchers, their “New Generation Muthea Antivenom” has been effective and affordably saving lives and limbs with zero death outcomes for all victims attended to in Wamunyu, Machakos, and also in Kinango, Kwale County for over 100 years.
The petitioners are accusing the Commission for Administrative Justice (CAJ) of ignoring requests to investigate potential misconduct by several institutions involved in past antivenom research and funding. They also allege that the Director General for Health refused due process for their application and that the Public Health office later supported a problematic, cheaper antivenom launch. They also claim that KEMRI collaborated with an inexperienced farmer after their own formula was disclosed and that clinical trial details with KEMRI & IPR are secret.
“This isn’t just about one product. It’s about how we treat innovation in Kenya. Kenya must be a country where bold ideas are nurtured; not stifled. Where innovators are empowered; not extorted,” Omtatah said.
According to the Institute of Primate Research, roughly 20,000 people in Kenya are bitten by snakes each year. Of those cases, an estimated 4,000 are fatal, and another 7,000 result in paralysis or other serious health complications.
Kenya imports antivenom primarily from Mexico and India, but about half of these treatments are ineffective, according to health officials. Antivenoms are often region-specific, formulated using venom from local snake species, making it difficult for imported versions to reliably counter bites from snakes found in Kenya.
Meanwhile, Kenya is set to launch a KSh1.8 billion anti-venom manufacturing plant in a bid to tackle the country’s high rate of snakebite-related fatalities and injuries. The facility, spearheaded by the Kenya Institute of Primate Research and the Kenya Snakebite Research and Intervention Centre, will be backed by a technology-transfer partnership with Costa Rica.
The initiative includes a state-of-the-art laboratory in Naivasha and aims to produce affordable, effective ‘new generational snakebite therapies’ tailored to Kenya’s diverse snake species.