Confessions of a Misguided Trio

Spin Doctor Becomes Unspun...

Whilst it would be easy to go extremely local and comment on the Queensland State Election campaign currently underway I think I'll reserve my wrath for just a little be longer. The Gold Coast Bulletin is doing a good enough job of highlighting the incompetence of Queenslnd politicians.

My quick media comment today comes from the letters section of the September/October edition of Foreign Policy.

(My scanner isn't working properly so I'll type this one out...)
Drugged Up

We commend Erika Check for examining important global health challenges in
"Quest for the Cure" (July/August 2006). However readers might be interested to
know that two of the diseases mistakenly described as "abandoned by modern
medicine," onchocerciais (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis, are in fact
being treated aggressively through programs made possible by pharmaceutical
industry discoveries.
More than 70 million people in the developing world are being treated each
year for river blindness and lymphatic filariasis through the Merck Mectizan
Donation Program. This antiparasitic drug was discovered and developed in the
1970s and 1980s and was approved for use against river blindness following
clinical trials conducted with the World Health Organization and others.
Realizing the impact this innovative drug could have against a widespread,
disabling disease and that those most in need of it were unable to afford it,
Merck made the unprecedented decision in 1987 to donate the drug to all who need
it, for as long as necessary. Almost 20 years later, the drug now reaches more
than 45 million people annually in more than 30 countries in Africa, Latin
America, and the Middle East.
Merck also donates the drug to fight lymphatic filariasis in Africa, where
it is administered with albendazole, a drug donated by GlaxoSmithKline. This
combination is now received by more than 25 million people each year through a
broad international partnership focused on eliminating the disease worldwide by
2020.
Although some developing diseases still lack effective treatment, readers
deserve to know about these successful partnerships that point the way to future
solutions.
-Jeffrey L. Sturchio
Vice President
External Affairs
Merck & Co., Inc.
Whitehouse Station, N.J.

Nice work on behalf of Jeff, bragging about how stand up his Pharmaceutical company is, spinning it very nicely, essentially doing his job... Until he gets bitch slapped by the author Crika Check...

Erika Check replies:

Merck's Mectizan Donation Program is laudable. However, it does not
undermine my contention that river blindness and lymphatic filarisis are among
those diseases that have been abandoned by modern medicine. The drug Merck
donates, invermectin, was not initially developed for use in people. It was
invented and marketed as a deworming agent for cattle, dogs, sheep, horses, and
pigs before the company began distributing it to human patients through their
donation program. It is doubtful that the company would have ever created a drug
for treating these neglected diseases had it not been for their interest in
manufacturing a profitable veterinary health medicine.

You have to admit that Jeff really didn't do his research that well...

Now that's out of the way a quick note on the election, heading into its final week of campaign nonsense I shall be posting a number of ridiculous quotes etc, etc, and we shall look to live blogging both the debate on the 8th the election on the 9th of September...

Until then my friends, stay safe...

posted by Mark @ 9:36 PM