Company Report

Company Reports / Merk & Co., Inc.

COMPANY: Merk & Co., Inc.

INDEX RANK: 4th

Total Impact Score: 9,337,962.56

Merk & Co., Inc. is ranked 4th place in our index for 2015. Merk & Co., Inc.’s drugs have a total impact score of 9,337,962.56. Merck treats seven diseases in our model - HIV, roundworm, MDR-TB, DS-TB, whipworm, onchocersais, and LF - with four total drugs - Streptomycin (S or STR), Efavirenz (EFV), Ivermectin (IVM), and Pyrazinamide (Z or PZA). Merck receives credit for one treatment against HIV - Efavirenz (EFV). This one drug averted 430,899.98 of the total DALYS for HIV, which is 16.82% of the worldwide DALYs that we estimate would have been lost due to HIV in 2015 in the absence of effective treatment. Merck’s drug portfolio placed it 3rd in terms of total averted DALYs for HIV. Merck receives credit for one treatment against roundworm - Ivermectin (IVM). This one drug averted 75,097.84 of the total DALYS for roundworm, which is 20.54% of the worldwide DALYs that we estimate would have been lost due to roundworm in 2015 in the absence of effective treatment. Merck’s drug portfolio placed it 2nd in terms of total averted DALYs for roundworm. Merck receives credit for two treatments against MDR-TB - Streptomycin (S or STR) and Pyrazinamide (Z or PZA). These two drugs averted 381,162.97 of the total DALYS for MDR-TB, which is 19.06% of the worldwide DALYs that we estimate would have been lost due to MDR-TB in 2015 in the absence of effective treatment. Merck’s drug portfolio placed it 3rd in terms of total averted DALYs for MDR-TB. Merck receives credit for one treatment against DS-TB - Pyrazinamide (Z or PZA). This one drug averted 8,470,126.91 of the total DALYS for DS-TB, which is 25.00% of the worldwide DALYs that we estimate would have been lost due to DS-TB in 2015 in the absence of effective treatment. Merck’s drug portfolio placed it in a tie for 1st in terms of total averted DALYs for DS-TB. Merck receives credit for one treatment against whipworm - Ivermectin (IVM). This one drug averted 3,621.48 of the total DALYS for whipworm, which is 26.33% of the worldwide DALYs that we estimate would have been lost due to whipworm in 2015 in the absence of effective treatment. Merck’s drug portfolio placed it 2nd in terms of total averted DALYs for whipworm. Merck receives credit for one treatment against onchocersais - Ivermectin (IVM). This one drug averted 2,790.64 of the total DALYS for onchocersais, which is 100.00% of the worldwide DALYs that we estimate would have been lost due to onchocersais in 2015 in the absence of effective treatment. Merck’s drug portfolio placed it 1st in terms of total averted DALYs for onchocersais. Merck receives credit for one treatment against LF - Ivermectin (IVM). This one drug averted 2,238.64 of the total DALYS for LF, which is 45.06% of the worldwide DALYs that we estimate would have been lost due to LF in 2015 in the absence of effective treatment. Merck’s drug portfolio placed it 2nd in terms of total averted DALYs for LF.

Company Score Breakdown:

Key Drugs

STREPTOMYCIN (S)

Streptomycin (S), an aminoglycoside antibiotic, was formerly a first line tuberculosis treatment, but due to toxicity and widespread resistance it is now used as a second-line injectable agent to treat rifampicin-resistant and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Side effects include auditory and renal dysfunction. Streptomycin was patented by Merck in 1948.

IVERMECTIN (IVM)

Ivermectin (Ivm) is a an anti-filarial medication used to treat parasitic onchocerciasis through the gradual killing of microfilariae; because of its safety and effectiveness, it is a common treatment. most common side effects include itching, fever, muscle and gland swelling, aches and ocular reactions, It is manufactured by Merck under the brand name Mectizan®.

EFAVIRENZ (EFV)

Efavirenz (EFV) is an ARV drug recommended by the WHO in the treatment of HIV as a part of preferred first-line regimens for children, adolescents, and adults, and for children also being treated for TB. Major toxicity concerns include hepatotoxicity, CNS toxicity, and hypersensitivity reactions. EFV was developed and patented by Dupont Merck, which then licensed it to Bristol-Myers-Squibb.

PYRAZINAMIDE (Z)

Pyrazinamide (Z), an analogue of nicotinamine, is a first line antibiotic used in the treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis and as an add-on agent in treating drugresistant TB. It has a high sterilizing effect and is effective at treating tuberculosis with the ability to reduce the duration of treatment by several months. Side effects include gastrointestinal upset and fatigue. It was first patented by Merck & Co Inc in 1954.

Company Information

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1891 and headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey. The company focuses their products in the areas of diabetes, cancer, vaccines and hospital acute care. Major drugs include Januvia®, Keytruda®, and Isentress®. Their research efforts focus on cancer, HIV, HPV, hepatitis C, cardio-metabolic disease, antibiotic-resistant infection, and Alzheimer’s disease. Merck attempts to make HIV medication, primarily Isentress®, accessible by offering pricing to countries based on disease burden and country income, licensing generics production, and, since 2017, making pediatric raltegravir available at zero profit in least-developed/low-income countries until generics become available. Their Institutional Business Africa unit works to ensure access to essential medicines in Africa; in 2015 they vaccinated one million girls in Rwanda and Uganda for HPV. In 2017, 42 of Merck’s products were available at differential pricing to improve access in LICs and LDCs including Gardasil®, Atripla®, and MMR-II® and $90 million was put into patientprovider education programs. They employ approximately 69,000 people and earned a revenue of about $40.1 billion in 2017.

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