MSD deal will speed drugs to developing countries

Published: 1-Sep-2005
Regulatory


Logistics company DHL and Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) have signed a deal that will help MSD's medicine Mectizan (ivermectin) reach patients with river blindness (onchocerciasis) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

Under the new arrangement, DHL will offer at-cost shipping of Mectizan from MSD's facility in Clermont-Ferrand, France, to endemic countries through DHL's air express services. The agreement builds upon an existing relationship between the two companies.

Mectizan is an antiparasitic drug produced by MSD. The company established a Mectizan Donation Programme back in 1987 and made a long-term commitment to donate the drug worldwide until river blindness is eliminated as a public health problem. An estimated 120 million people are at risk of contracting the disease in some 35 developing countries.

In 1998, MSD expanded the programme to include prevention of another parasitic disease, lymphatic filariasis, in Africa and Yemen where the two diseases co-exist. Lymphatic filariasis threatens more than a billion people, one third of whom live in Africa.

'MSD's mission of putting patients first means it isn't enough to simply discover and develop novel medicines and vaccines. We also have a responsibility to pursue creative and effective partnerships - such as this one with DHL - that can help bring crucial medicines to people around the world,' said Michel Iguer, regional director and vice-president of Europe, Middle East and Africa for MSD. 'This agreement is evidence of DHL's commitment to using its logistics expertise to benefit the global community.'

DHL moves various drugs and medicines around the world through its dedicated Life Sciences logistics business unit.

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