Merck and river blindness case summary. The Merck and River Blindness Case 2022-12-15

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Merck & Co., Inc. is a multinational pharmaceutical company known for its dedication to researching and developing innovative treatments for various diseases. One such disease is river blindness, also known as onchocerciasis, which is a parasitic infection that affects millions of people in West Africa.

In the 1970s, Merck began working on a treatment for river blindness, which at the time had no known cure. The company spent over a decade researching and developing a drug called ivermectin, which was eventually approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987.

Ivermectin proved to be an effective treatment for river blindness, as it was able to kill the parasitic worms that caused the disease. However, the drug was expensive and not widely available in the regions where it was most needed. In order to address this issue, Merck made the decision to donate ivermectin to those in need, free of charge.

This decision was groundbreaking, as it was the first time a pharmaceutical company had ever donated a product to treat a disease in developing countries. Merck's donation program, known as the Mectizan Donation Program, was initially focused on distributing ivermectin to areas of West Africa where river blindness was prevalent. However, over time, the program expanded to include other regions of the world where the disease was present.

To date, the Mectizan Donation Program has distributed over 2 billion doses of ivermectin, which has helped to significantly reduce the prevalence of river blindness in affected areas. The program has also helped to improve the overall health and quality of life for those affected by the disease.

In addition to its donation program, Merck has also invested in research to find additional treatments for river blindness. This includes the development of a second-generation drug called moxidectin, which has the potential to provide longer-lasting protection against the disease.

Overall, Merck's efforts to combat river blindness have had a significant impact on the global health community. The company's dedication to researching and developing innovative treatments, as well as its commitment to providing these treatments to those in need, has helped to improve the lives of millions of people around the world.

Merck and Co., River Blindness Analysis Essay Example

merck and river blindness case summary

Upon learning about victims suffering from river blindness, Merck realized that they had a potential cure to the problem. International Law Reports, 401-404. Headquartered in Whitehouse station, New Jersey, Merck has over 71,000 employees and sells products and services in approximately 150 countries. The parasite causes severe itching, disfiguring skin infections, and, finally, total and permanent blindness. People invest in Merck because they expect a certain reasonable return on their investments and Merck has a responsibility to act in the best interest of their shareholders.

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merck and river blindness typemoon.org

merck and river blindness case summary

After 7 years of expensive research and numerous clinical trials, Merck succeeded in developing a human version of Ivermectin later named Mectizan. They may vary across cultures. In most cases, philanthropy is associated with increased profitability. It is not for profits. RARE: the resources of the Merck And River Blindness company that are not used by any other company are known as rare.

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MERCK AND RIVER BLINDNESS typemoon.org

merck and river blindness case summary

Secondly, the Merck is likely to become bankrupt since the medication cost is wholly covered by the pharmaceutical company. Merck devotes an entire section of their website to Corporate Responsibility and they have detailed information on the initiatives they support. Cultural relativism is the logic of considering that all norms that are developed by society are equally valid Cultural Relativism: All Truth is Local, 2013. I prefer to rank them as to who might get the drug or benefit from it. Favorable headlines may be beneficial to the company and shareholders. As long as Merck was operating legally, the moral questions about the results of the decision are not relevant to the virtue ethics approach. Doctors prescribed the drug as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and prescription painkiller.

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Merck and River Blindness Essay Example

merck and river blindness case summary

Ties That Bind: A Social Contracts Approach to Business Ethics. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear. Towards the end, the case study will provide some alternatives and recommendations for decision making. If the company holds some value then answer is yes. Therefore, personal growth, autonomy, healthy relationships, and physical health are initial for the wellbeing of our communities and our citizens. The experiment was conducted to enable the scientists to identify if the medication could cause adverse effects for the health of the specimens.

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Merck Company and River Blindness Drug

merck and river blindness case summary

It is not for the profits. Merck is also faced with the possible undesirable results for the ethical dilemma options. The positive right that the patients with river blindness were deprived of was the right to have adequate information on the side effects of the Mactizan drugs. However, the new entrants will eventually cause decrease in overall industry profits. In face of many worsening conditions of the drug industry, Merck managers were reluctant to undertake expensive projects that showed little economic promise.

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Merck And River Blindness Case Study Solution and Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

merck and river blindness case summary

They should comply with this regulation even if a new drug has great potential for profits. The best moral choice in this situation would be to continue with the research of the drug Ivermectin and to make it readily available and safe to those who need the drug regardless of financial capability. There may be long-term social benefits such as elimination of river blindness. Backlash forces investors to pull out. STEP 9: Selection Of Alternatives For Merck And River Blindness Case Solution: It is very important to select the alternatives and then evaluate the best one as the company have limited choices and constraints.

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The Merck and River Blindness Case

merck and river blindness case summary

Attracting talent to work for the company has never been a problem for Merck, but the bigger question was whether or not this talent would be able to keep Merck's profits at a maximum and keep developing drugs in the pipeline. The physicians monitored and motivated the patients. The problem for Merck was that river blindness generally only affects people in very poor areas and there was very little chance to recoup their financial investment by selling the drug. On average it would take approximately 12 years and 200 million dollars to bring a new drug into the market. Loss of respect for Merck leadership. Consequently, the medication was offered at no expense to the consumers Basáñez et al. Department of State without success.

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Merck River Blindness typemoon.org

merck and river blindness case summary

The teleological approach to this dilemma would require an examination of the issue and a breakdown of all the possible consequences of the various options presented. They also were required to save humanity by providing the drug that would help save the vast populations of people who were affected by river blindness. The medication was then tested on desperate people who volunteered for the tests. Those at risk are unlikely to afford the full cost of the drug. We value, above all, our ability to serve everyone who can benefit from the appropriate use of our products and services, thereby providing lasting consumer satisfaction Our values, 2008. On the Merck website, I found this listed first among their Values: Our business is preserving and improving human life. The leadership of a business should work towards improving employee morale and motivation p.

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