Former Trade Cabinet Administration Secretary David Osiany's eulogy lifted a lid on Prof George Magoha's values as an accomplished academician and administrator.
The details that were shared by Osiany on January 24, 2023, brought to light rare facts that do recognise the Professor's life as a researcher and a medical inventor.
At 71, Prof Magoha died an accomplished urologist, his wife Dr Barbara Odudu Magoha is a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist while the couple’s only child Dr Michael Magoha is also a physician.
"There are medicinal drugs that have been developed in the world and are accredited to Prof George Magoha," Osiany revealed.
As a health care specialist who focused on the urinary tract (kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra), Prof Magoha was accredited with the innovation of a medicine known as Sildenafil.
Sildenafil or sold under the brand name Viagra, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension.
"Traditionally this condition has been called impotence, but the term erectile dysfunction is more precise because it refers specifically to the clinical problem of an erection," Magoha explained in his past research paper.
At the University of Nairobi where Prof Magoha taught medicine and surgery, the urologist conducted groundbreaking medical research that was accepted by the US Pharmaceutical firm, Pfizer.
In collaboration with Pfizer, Magoha became one of the brains behind the development of an enhanced version of the sexual virility drug Viagra, which hit the market in the early 2000s.
The former Dean of the Medical School of the University of Nairobi, Prof Magoha's research was used as the basis for enhanced development and mass production of Sildenafil (Viagra), particularly, for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
Pfizer began the development of Viagra in 1989, but it was only used for the treatment of heart diseases and conditions.
However, Magoha's research opened the drug to a new medical treatment that was not its original function.
"The primary indication of Sildenafil is the treatment of erectile dysfunction (inability to sustain a satisfactory erection to complete sexual intercourse).
"Its use is now one of the standard treatments for erectile dysfunction, including for men with diabetes mellitus," Pfizer explained.
In his 91-page Curriculum Vitae, Magoha shared his pride over the drug that possibly saved many relationships, especially, marriages.
Sildenafil was the 183rd most commonly prescribed medication in the United States in 2020. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Viagra had two million prescriptions in the same year.
FDA also noted that Viagra is among the most Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) in terms of Sildenafil citrate, which is produced in Pfizer's Ringaskiddy complex, County Cork, which is Pfizer's largest production facility outside of the United States.
On August 24, 2022, the former Education Cabinet Secretary announced his return to medical practice.
“I will miss you, journalists, you played a big role. If you have issues with passing urine, pass by my clinic in Nairobi Hospital," he told Scribes.
