The most recent announcement from Merck & Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb, and the International Partnership for Microbicides (I.P.M.) is the most encouraging news that microbicide advocates have received in years. The new partnership is cause for celebration, as it promises hope for a product that will help women around the world fight the growing AIDS epidemic and bring confidence and security to the female population for whom AIDS is an omnipresent concern and issue. The partnership is a revolutionary event and a strong sign of solidarity between the private and public sector. It is a superior example of corporate social responsibility that will hopefully be the first of many of its kind.
Merck & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb have both signed licensing agreements with the International Partnership for Microbicides. Both companies have granted IPM a royalty-free license so that IPM may develop, manufacture, and distribute their compounds to be used as microbicides in regions of the world that are severely resource deficient. The new compounds are labeled “entry inhibitors,” some of which bind directly to HIV, while others prevent infection by binding to the CCR5 receptor. The new alliances illustrate the immense potential that arises when organizations cooperate with each other, particularly in the scientific sector. The willingness and ability of well-endowed pharmaceutical companies to share their research and knowledge for a public benefit sends a powerful signal to the public. The new alliance shows that the industry is actually concerned with global health, and not just maximizing their bottom line.
IPM was created as an organizational catalyst for the development and accessibility of a vaginal microbicide that would prevent the transmission of HIV. IPM works to organize and combine the various efforts around the world so that the first microbicide will be on the market as soon as possible. IPM’s scientific capabilities will allow for the organization to test the compounds that Merck & Co. and Bristol Myers-Squibb have developed as prospective microbicides.
The term “microbicides” describes a range of products that when applied topically, prevent the sexual transmission of HIV and other STD’s. For those women who do not have the social or economic power to demand condom use and fidelity, microbicides provide a powerful prevention and protection tool that does not necessitate their partner’s consent. Microbicides may be contraceptive or non- contraceptive, allowing women who desire to get pregnant to do so without risking the chance of contracting HIV. It has been estimated that over a three year period, if a small fraction of women utilized a 60% effective microbicide during half of their sexual encounters in which condoms are not used, approximately 2.5 million new HIV infections could be prevented.
The development and advocacy of microbicides has been an uphill battle for scientists, activists, and the women most in need of an effective microbicide. The partnership was announced on the night of the TIME Global Health Summit as an extraordinary achievement in the global push for a microbicide. The lack of large pharmaceutical support, once seen as the major development roadblock, crumbled as the announcement was made. For so long, the development of microbicides were of no interest to the pharmaceutical industry, as they represented a traditional “public health good,” describing a product that could yield tremendous benefits for society, but for which there was no viable economic gain to be made in the future.
Dr. Zeda Rosenberg, Chief Executive Officer of IPM commented, “These historic agreements mark a turning point in the pharmaceutical industry’s commitment to developing a safe and effective microbicide to protect women from HIV. We are grateful to Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb for their leadership and commitment in helping us develop new technologies to protect millions of women.” Rosenberg promises that IPM will work rapidly to develop, research, and test the new compounds.
The partnerships will undoubtedly help to dispel the dark shadow that has descended over the pharmaceutical industry, portraying the larger companies as corrupt, greedy, and driven solely by profit. Merck & Co. and Bristol Myers Squibb have created an innovative model for public and private collaboration- their new relationship and commitment to microbicides bring the world closer to one of the most imperative weapons in the fight against AIDS: a prevention option that gives women in developing countries equal control in an inequitable society. Even though the collaboration has only just been announced, the involvement of two of the most famous drug companies increases the legitimacy and recognition to the necessity of a microbicide.
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