Professor Arthur Obel, a Kenyan scientist, identified the first cases of

Human Immunodeficiency Virus The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of th ...

in Kenya and treated many AIDS patients. He developed two medications, Kemron and Pearl Omega, to cure

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. It was later discovered that neither Kemron nor Pearl Omega were effective medications against the

retrovirus A retrovirus is a type of virus that inserts a DNA copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that cell. After invading a host cell's cytoplasm, the virus uses its own reverse transcriptase e ...

Education, career, and honoraries

Education

Professor Arthur Obel received his PhD in

Therapeutics A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications an ...

from the

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

in 1978. He then received his M.D. in

Clinical Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

from the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

in 1987.

Career

Dr. Obel was head of the Public Administration of the Kenya Institute of Administration in 1990. He also had the position of Chief Research Officer of the Kenya Medical Research Institute ( KEMRI) from 1989 to 1991. Obel later became the Chief Scientist of the Office of the President of Kenya from 1995 to 1999. This high position in government allowed him to attain many funds for his research. Being in a respectable position also allowed him to have many close friends that were high ranking government officials, such as Philip Mbithi, the former Chief Secretary in the Office of the President of Kenya.

Honoraries

Professor Obel received many honoraries. He was a member of the Global Epidemiology Society in 1983 and the Achievers Society in 1983. Obel did a fellowship with numerous institutions including the Jewish Chemists Federation in 1986, the

International Diabetes Federation The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is an umbrella organisation of over 240 national diabetes associations in more than 161 countries and territories. It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Organization IDF is divided into seven reg ...

in 1986, and the Global Pharmaceutical Federation in 1987. He was also a

Project Management Professional Project Management Professional (PMP) is an internationally recognized professional designation offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). As of 31 July 2020, there are 1,036,368 active PMP-certified individuals and 314 chartered chapters ...

(PMP) with the Centre for Finance and Project Management in 2004.

Kemron

Dr. Arthur Obel claimed that Kemron and Pearl Omega were the cures for HIV/AIDS. Professor Obel joined KEMRI, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, where they aimed to find an effective treatment to eradicate HIV/AIDS. KEMRI and Obel picked up a medication that was developed but denied approval for testing in the United States and lowered the concentration before testing. This medication was Kemron. The medication was tested in other areas, such as the University of Makerere. It was then discovered that Kemron did nothing much to help with the disease. Kemron only reversed the symptoms of the HIV disease for a short period of time. Because of this, people were quick to purchase the expensive medication. Dr. Obel received much backlash because of this and resigned from KEMRI in January 1991.

Pearl Omega

Pearl Omega, a

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

, was found to have very few positive outcomes when combatting HIV. Obel claimed that Pearl Omega was a protease inhibitor and sold the drug at a very expensive price. One bottle of Pearl Omega was KSh. , the equivalent of £350 stg. Human trials of this medication started in 1991 and Obel claimed that the medication restored the health of seven AIDS patients. However, there was no scientific data to back up his claims. People were much less inclined to purchase the second drug produced by Obel after Kemron. The Health Minister disowned the drug and many institutions banned the use of the drug after the discrediting of Obel. Pearl Omega was later found to be sold in the

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

illegally as it is illegal for any medication to be sold before it is approved by the Health Minister in Kenya.

Aftermath of Kemron and Pearl Omega

Professor Obel was sued by many patients because of Kemron and Pearl Omega's ineffectiveness and he later had a court case versus the Kenya AIDS Society in 1998. This court case against Obel was because he manufactured, distributed, and sold Pearl Omega without the approval of the Health Minister of Kenya. Obel won the case and gained a reputation of falsifying information and fraud. Professor Arthur Obel continued his work on HIV/AIDS even after the discreditation of the Kemron and Pearl Omega medications. In 2011, he published work on the correlation of

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

clinical staging with

CD4 In molecular biology, CD4 (cluster of differentiation 4) is a glycoprotein that serves as a co-receptor for the T-cell receptor (TCR). CD4 is found on the surface of immune cells such as helper T cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic c ...

cell count in adult HIV positive patients at the

Kenyatta National Hospital The Kenyatta National Hospital is the oldest hospital in Nairobi, Kenya which was established In 1901 as the Native Civil Hospital but later changed in 1963 to Kenyatta National Hospital. It is a public, tertiary, referral hospital for the Mi ...

. Obel wrote a book called "Curbing the HIV/AIDS Menace Effectively" in 1995.

Work not relating to HIV/AIDS

Although Obel is most known for his work on Kemron and Pearl Omega, a big part of Dr. Obel's research consisted of practical therapeutics. He has numerous published works including practical therapeutics on antibiotic therapy, the use of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

, the use of anti-diabetic agents, the treatment of

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

, the treatment of

peptic ulcers Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...

anxiolytic An anxiolytic (; also antipanic or anti-anxiety agent) is a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxie ...

drugs, and the therapy of diarrhoeal diseases. Professor Obel also has written, and self-published, numerous books such as "Power and Intrigue," a book relating to one's power, whether it be associative, personal, professional, or reward power, "Kenya's Industrialization Strategy," and "Resilient Manhood Dynamism: The Basis of a Rapid Take-off."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obel, Arthur Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the University of London HIV/AIDS researchers 20th-century Kenyan scientists University of Nairobi alumni