Kenneth Frazier, Merck Vaccines, and the World Health Organization

In 2001, Merck & Co., along with Novartis, Glaxo SmithKline (GSK) and 17 other companies attempted to sue South Africa in the Medicines Act Case for attempting to legalize the importation of cheaper generic versions of drugs. The collective lawsuit against the South African government was ultimately dropped. In 2010 these were the top three companies on the “Access to Medicines Index” which measures commitments, performance, transparency, and research and development involving access to medicines (WHO report). Merck & Co. is a partner with the World Health Organization and GAVI Alliance, with specifically focus on saving children’s lives and protecting people through access to immunization in the world’s poorest countries. Merck’s Vaccine Division is one of 55 national industry association members from the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA). How is it that the same company involved in the Medicines Act Case in 2001 is now a leader in access to medicines worldwide and a prominent partner with global health organizations?

Kenneth C. Frazier, current CEO of Merck, gave a seminar talk in January 2009 at the Benjamin Franklin Award in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his presentation, Frazier touched on the importance of companies like Merck assuming responsibility for global health, “To not put these medicines and vaccines into the hands of the people that need them – that would be a waste.” Frazier also noted that because Merck is a pharmaceutical company, and not an implementer of public health program, it has joined ’key players in public health to create a robust and diverse partnership involving the World Health Organization, the World Bank, national governments, non-profit organizations, and local communities.”

Merck has been working in the fight against HIV/AIDS for more than two decades. At the Benjamin Franklin Award event, Frazier gave a specific example of the kind of efforts Merck already implemented in the fight against HIV: "As one example of our HIV/AIDS partnerships- in 2000 Merck joined forces with the Government of Botswana and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to establish a comprehensive and sustainable response to the AIDS pandemic in a country which, at its height, had an adult HIV prevalence rate close to 40 percent. Today, with more than 100,000 people on treatment, Botswana has one of the largest and most successful treatment programs on the South African continent.”  At the beginning of July, Merck announced plans to participate with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of California at San Francisco in developing research to eradicate HIV. This research is part of a five-year effort to ”define HIV’s reservoirs, better understand the reservoirs, and test potential treatments.” Merck’s news release also noted that The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will be the primary funding organization and that Merck will not receive any funding for its participation in the effort. Frazier also noted in Philadelphia that, “Because of a combination of differential pricing and engagement in public-private partnerships, our HIV medicines are used around the world, regardless of economic status.”

Reports from the WHO on access to medicines and Merck’s efforts to find an HIV vaccine are actually part of a larger ongoing debate: should pharmaceutical companies, such as Merck, be responsible, in the way States are responsible, for access to medicines and healthcare (i.e. vaccines)? A decade later, the WHO deems that in fact it is time to hold drug companies accountable for “human rights” responsibilities. In the report, three unique perspectives are given, with Geralyn Ritter, VP of Global Health Policy and Corporate Social Responsibility at Merck arguing, “Multiple stakeholders could do more to help States deliver the right to health.”  What was originally a dispute between South Africa and pharmaceutical giants Merck, GSK, and Novartis is now a common platform for global health. Like Kenneth Frazier, Geralyn Ritter recognizes Merck’s role in global health. In a PLoS Medicine Debate, Ritter states, “Merck believes that helping to address global health challenges is a strategic and humanitarian imperative…the pharmaceutical industry can and should leverage its expertise to help States achieve the full realization of the right to health.”  Partnerships with the WHO and research institutions are vital to Merck’s success in finding vaccines for the world’s most endemic viruses. 

Collaboration is an important business strategy for Merck. In promoting its research with UNC Chapel Hill and UC San Francisco, Merck notes that much of the research in HIV has been thanks to collaboration with organizations and companies which can assist in fighting the virus. Frazier notes that, “Science and innovation is the DNA of the company.” As Merck’s progress continues in the search for an effective HIV vaccine, Frazier’s stance on collaboration and research and development will be vital in Merck’s ability to grow as a company and assist the world’s affected HIV positive patients.

Author: Michelle Offik