15.03.2016, 00:08
Merck Collaborates with University of Buea, Cameroon
OREANDA-NEWS. Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced a collaboration with the University of Buea, Cameroon, to focus on river blindness and here especially on Macrofilaricides to treat this disease, also known as onchocerciasis. Merck will contribute to this non-profit partnership by sharing inhibitors from its compound library, which have shown promise for treating several parasitic diseases.
"Merck is committed to helping and improving people's quality of life by providing access to high quality and sustainable healthcare," Deputy CEO and Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck, Stefan Oschmann, said. "The agreement demonstrates our dedication to fight debilitating diseases. Patients are the central focus of all we do."
The screening of the inhibitors provided by Merck will be led by Fidelis Cho-Ngwa, head of the Biotechnology Unit at the University of Buea. This project aims to fulfill an unmet medical need by identifying compounds effective in treating onchocerciasis without adverse effects with Loa loa, a disease caused by parasitic worms.
"The voices of the poor patients in the endemic regions are finally beginning to be heard. This initiative for health product creation, positioned on the UN platform and based on a not-for-profit strategy, is a veritable messiah to the problem of infectious diseases," Cho-Ngwa said.
The collaboration between Merck and the University of Buea was facilitated by WIPO Re:Search, Geneva, Switzerland, an open innovation platform, sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), to accelerate early discovery for infectious diseases through the sharing of knowledge and intellectual property (IP).
Merck's WIPO Re:Search membership and collaboration with the University of Buea are a strategic part of its Access to Health (A2H) approach to improve sustainable access to high-quality health solutions for underserved populations.
This collaboration is addressing access and intellectual property barriers between collaborating partners in the Global North and Global South to accelerate early discovery for infectious diseases.
Through this collaboration, Merck is supporting local capacity-building for R&D among developing countries in the Global South. By sharing knowledge and intellectual property, the collaboration demonstrates how intellectual property can be activated to be a promoter of access rather than a barrier.
"Merck is committed to helping and improving people's quality of life by providing access to high quality and sustainable healthcare," Deputy CEO and Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck, Stefan Oschmann, said. "The agreement demonstrates our dedication to fight debilitating diseases. Patients are the central focus of all we do."
The screening of the inhibitors provided by Merck will be led by Fidelis Cho-Ngwa, head of the Biotechnology Unit at the University of Buea. This project aims to fulfill an unmet medical need by identifying compounds effective in treating onchocerciasis without adverse effects with Loa loa, a disease caused by parasitic worms.
"The voices of the poor patients in the endemic regions are finally beginning to be heard. This initiative for health product creation, positioned on the UN platform and based on a not-for-profit strategy, is a veritable messiah to the problem of infectious diseases," Cho-Ngwa said.
The collaboration between Merck and the University of Buea was facilitated by WIPO Re:Search, Geneva, Switzerland, an open innovation platform, sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), to accelerate early discovery for infectious diseases through the sharing of knowledge and intellectual property (IP).
Merck's WIPO Re:Search membership and collaboration with the University of Buea are a strategic part of its Access to Health (A2H) approach to improve sustainable access to high-quality health solutions for underserved populations.
This collaboration is addressing access and intellectual property barriers between collaborating partners in the Global North and Global South to accelerate early discovery for infectious diseases.
Through this collaboration, Merck is supporting local capacity-building for R&D among developing countries in the Global South. By sharing knowledge and intellectual property, the collaboration demonstrates how intellectual property can be activated to be a promoter of access rather than a barrier.
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