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Thursday, January 6, 2005
The pharmaceutical industry is playing a major role in providing
relief to those affected by the Asian tsunami disaster, both in
terms of medicines and cash donations. With so many survivors in
many different countries now without homes and forced to live in
temporary accommodation, the risk of disease presents a danger almost
as dire as the earthquake itself.
Various companies have already donated more than £20million
in cash and millions of doses of lifesaving emergency medicines
to meet immediate life-saving needs. Pharmaceutical companies are
also committed to helping address longer term health concerns. Examples
include:
GlaxoSmithKline is donating one million doses of antibiotics and
expects to donate a further one million this week. 600,000 doses
of typhoid and hepatitis A vaccines are ready for donation as required.
The company has also donated £2million in cash aid to relief
agencies and aims to provide long-term assistance in the rebuilding
of healthcare in the affected communities.
Pfizer is donating approximately £13.3million worth of medicines,
principally anti-infectives, and logistical support to local and
international relief agencies. In addition, it has donated £5.3million
in cash aid to these organisations including the Red Cross/ Red
Crescent, UNICEF, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee.
The company is also co-ordinating personal donations from employees
across the world.
Lilly is donating £1million in cash through the Lilly Foundation
and plans further cash aid up to £2.5million and is keeping
the situation under active review. The company is reviewing product
donation potential, likely to include antibiotics and insulin, and
is also planning a global matched giving programme.
Roche is donating 220,000 packs of anti-bacterial and antibiotic
medicines. The medicines are being made available to international
aid agencies. This donation comes on top of immediate medical and
financial support given by local Roche affiliates in the affected
countries.
Wyeth has announced a £500,000 cash donation to a range of
international relief agencies, including the Red Cross, AmeriCares,
Heart to Heart and Project HOPE. It is working with these relief
agencies to ensure that additional medicines and infant nutrition
products donated by the company are distributed effectively and
appropriately. To date, the most requested items are antibiotics,
vaccines, anti-inflammatory agents, nutritional formulas and analgesics.
Wyeth is also supporting employees who wish to make a personal contribution
to the relief fund. All employee contributions are in addition to
the cash being donated by the corporation itself.
Johnson & Johnson is donating £1million in cash and is
sending nine disaster relief modules to aid the treating of victims.
In addition the company is working with the Red Cross and is matching
employees donations to that organisation. Local branches of the
company are helping to co-ordinate relief efforts, eg. in Indonesia
and Thailand donations of sutures, antibiotics, antidiarrhoeals
and food, water and blankets have been made.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is shipping enough antifungals and antibiotics
to treat 75,000 people. In addition, the company's charitable foundation
has donated £500,000 in cash to the Red Cross and is matching
all employee donations.
Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) is making a contribution of £1.6million
to the American Red Cross, the US Fund for UNICEF and several local
agencies in support of their work in the massive relief effort.
The company is standing by to provide medicines when required. Past
experience has shown that the first focus of the international health
and disease agencies is containing acute, possibly life-threatening
health conditions. Because most of Mercks product line is intended
for long-term treatment of chronic illnesses it may take the agencies
some time to determine what MSD medicines are needed and where.
The company is also intending to co-ordinate and match employee
donations.
To date, AstraZeneca is donating more than £318,000 in cash,
primarily directed to the Red Cross in Thailand, Indonesia, Sri
Lanka, India and Malaysia. To ensure best use of donated funds it
is proposed that the bulk of donations made by AstraZeneca be made
through the local company in the affected countries. It is not expected
there will be a significant demand in the short term for AstraZeneca
products, as the AstraZeneca range of products is not well aligned
to the immediate medical need. Where requests for product are made,
such as local anaesthetics, these will be addressed on a case by
case basis.
Six tons of Sanofi-aventis medicines, consisting of 70,000 packs
of antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medicines and antibacterial treatments
have been shipped to the region. Each Sanofi-aventis site in France
is adopting one of the villages destroyed and is planning a long-term
twinning relationship with them. The company has also decided to
donate £500,000 to institutions and associations that are
active in the area. A first installment of £210,000 was given
to the Red Cross on December 30, 2004. A second installment of £70,300
is to be given to the Association du Père Ceyrac, which is
working in the Tamil Nadu region in southern India.
Novartis is offering help in the form of product and cash donations
to support the work of government authorities and relief organisations
in the affected countries. Including immediate relief support an
amount of £1million. Novartis officials remain in contact
with authorities and relief organisations in the region to assess
local needs and provide further assistance on a targeted basis.
Abbott is committing £2.1million in funding and healthcare
product donations to the victims of the natural disasters in Southeast
Asia and the eastern coast of Africa. Working through international
humanitarian agencies, AmeriCares and Project HOPE, global healthcare
company Abbott is sending needed prescription drugs and nutritional
aid. The Abbott product donation is expected to help approximately
60,000 people and is valued at £1 million. Additionally, Abbott
is donating £1 million in funding through relief agencies
working on the ground in the affected regions. And, employees in
Abbott's Egyptian affiliate have pledged one hour of their salary
to assist in relief efforts.
Boehringer Ingelheim is pledging £700,000 to the tsunami
appeal.
Bayer is donating over £7million in medical supplies and
cash donations. Medicines provided include antibiotics, pain relievers,
cardiovascular, anti-diarrheal infections, anti-malarial and other
hemorrhagic fever treatments. The company expects to provide more
emergency assistance over the short-term and is already planning
long-term projects to aid in the reconstruction.
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