Our social commitment comprises local and regional charitable projects that the Merck subsidiaries implement independently as part of the existing Corporate Responsibility concept, as well as global projects. The latter include the Merck Praziquantel Donation Program, the Global Pharma Health Fund (GPHF) and the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck.
Merck Praziquantel Donation Program: Combating the tropical disease schistosomiasis
In 2007, we entered into a partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat the worm disease schistosomiasis in African school children. As part of this collaboration, Merck is donating Cesol® 600 tablets containing the active ingredient praziquantel. Schistosomiasis is the most common tropical disease in Africa after malaria, causing primarily children to suffer. Since the partnership began, more than 28 million children have been treated in 11 African countries.
We have made a commitment to WHO to continue donating Cesol® 600 until the disease has been eliminated in Africa and will increase our drug donation ten-fold in the medium term. Apart from this, we are also supporting an awareness program in African schools to educate pupils about the causes of schistosomiasis and ways to prevent the disease. Furthermore, we entered into a public-private partnership with TI Pharma, Astellas Pharma Inc. and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in July 2012 in order to develop a pediatric formulation of praziquantel for preschool children. At the present time, infants and small children who are infected with schistosomiasis cannot be adequately treated since the standard therapy is available only as tablets for adults and children as of the age of six.
Global Pharma Health Fund: Protection from counterfeit medicines
The Global Pharma Health Fund (GPHF), which is exclusively funded by Merck, is combating counterfeit medicines in developing and emerging countries. According to estimates by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), between 10% and 30% of the medicines offered worldwide are either counterfeit or of inferior quality. Many African and Asian countries are especially affected by this since they lack effective regulatory and enforcement systems for medicines. In order to identify counterfeits and quickly remove them from circulation, more than 570 compact mobile laboratories, or GPHF-Minilabs, were in use in more than 80 countries at the end of 2012. These Minilabs make it possible to rapidly identify 58 different drug active ingredients and to immediately detect inferior or ineffective medicines.
Deutsche Philharmonie Merck: Cultural promotion
The Deutsche Philharmonie Merck is one example of how we promote culture. With up to 80 professional musicians and a very diverse concert repertoire, this orchestra is not only an integral part of the cultural life in the vicinity of our corporate headquarters in Darmstadt – it also tours internationally.
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