DiagnosticsMerck Issues Statement On WHO Study Showing First Evidence That Elimination Of River Blindness Is Feasible In Africa
Merck & Co., Inc. issued the following statement in response to study results published today by the World Health Organization offering the first evidence that elimination of the tropical disease river blindness (onchocerciasis) in Africa is feasible with treatment with ivermectin (registered trademark Mectizan®). As the discoverer and manufacturer of Mectizan, Merck decided in 1987 to donate the drug to all who need it for as long as necessary until river blindness is eliminated as a public health problem. The Merck Mectizan Donation Program is one of the longest-running disease-specific drug donation and public/private partnership programs in history.
"When Merck made the decision more than 20 years ago to donate Mectizan to help fight river blindness, we dreamed that a milestone like this might some day be possible," said Richard T. Clark, chairman, president and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc. "It gives me and thousands of Merck employees and retirees enormous satisfaction and pride to know we are playing a role in eliminating a dreaded disease that has ravaged villages and millions of people and generations of families."
Since the program"s inception, Merck has donated 2.5 billion tablets of Mectizan at an estimated value of $3.75 billion. Recently, Merck pledged up to $25 million in support of an initiative with the World Bank, the World Health Organization and other partners to eliminate the disease in Africa.
The Mectizan Donation Program now reaches more than 80 million people in Africa, Latin America and Yemen annually.
For more information about the Merck Mectizan Donation Program and Merck"s corporate responsibility efforts, visit here.
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