A scientist at Merck finds that a drug the company has developed to treat a para

Question

A scientist at Merck finds that a drug the company has developed to treat a parasite that infects animals may hold the key to treating a similar problem with human beings. The illness in humans is called “River Blindness”, it afflicts 18 million people (with 85 million at risk), and has horrible effects on its victims – worms that reproduce and spread through the body of the victim cause tremendous discomfort and itching that lead many to commit suicide, and it eventually causes blindness. The central problem is that the populations affected by this disease are all in developing countries, they are poor, and they are unlikely to be able to pay for a drug. Given Merck’s mission to make medicine that is for the people, not the profits, how should they respond?

Explanation / Answer

Medicine is for the People - Not for the Profits, this is a popular slogan. To achieve this goal they should intensely focus on the research work – how to develop a drug that is cost effective; aim should be to reduce the cost for developing the drug and available for every person. Gather knowledge from existing sources, come across with new ideas and at the end it surely will come something good. Finding some ideas how to reduce the steps for developing a new drug that can reduce the cost as well. Intellectuals from every related fields should be gathered and share their ideas. Find some alternative materials and methods that could reduce the manufacturing cost. By this way they can proceed.

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