(Jon Han) 

Building Bonds in the BRICs

The benefits of good health are immeasurable. The well being of governments, of industries, of any organization, depends entirely upon the health of the people comprising it. While much has been made of the economic future of the BRIC contingent and how it will be realized, less has been said about the well being of its citizens—where they are today, where they hope to be tomorrow, and how they will get from A to B.

Merck has begun a number of initiatives in BRIC nations engaged in finding answers to this question. Many of these involve partnerships with local governments, pharmaceutical firms and research foundations. Despite the similarities that inspired the BRIC acronym, each of its members faces a fundamentally different healthcare landscape, with distinct health issues and customer preferences. Merck/MSD (as the company is known outside the U.S. and Canada) aims to meet each country’s needs with approaches that are adaptable and flexible, employing world-class manufacturing networks, local clinical trials and new product formulations and combinations of medicines.

One challenge common to the BRIC countries, however, is the steady rise of chronic illness. A 2005 report from the World Health Organization, Preventing Chronic Diseases: A Vital Investment, detailed the economic costs of these conditions. The report predicted that the lost national income due to diabetes, stroke and heart disease could reach $49.2, $303.2, $236.6 and $557.7 billion in Brazil, Russia, India and China, respectively, in the period from 2005 to 2015. In total, these figures surpass $1.15 trillion.

Need for Investments

Infrastructure poses a major challenge in each of the BRIC nations. Some have a shortage of hospitals, pharmacies and trained healthcare workers. Just as our industry is looking to BRIC markets for growth and new ideas, these markets are looking to us to strengthen infrastructure, provide jobs and foster opportunities in science and education. By working to bolster local infrastructure, multinational corporations can improve the quality of life for billions of people in these countries.

As the BRICs develop healthcare infrastructure—from inside and out—these countries face another problem: access. We at Merck want to make our products available to patients where and when they need them, but ongoing shifts in market conditions and complex in-country regulations remain a challenge.

Still, we continue to invest more in BRIC nations. In July 2010, for example, Merck broke ground on a new 37,000-square-meter manufacturing facility in Hangzhou, China. In addition, we are developing manufacturing, research and marketing partnerships with local companies in each of the BRICs as well as in other emerging markets that meet our company’s business objectives while enhancing local healthcare and economic development.

Emerging markets will account for most of the growth in our industry over the next several years. Merck’s goal is to derive more than 25 percent of its global pharmaceutical and vaccine revenue from these markets in 2013.

Dealing with Disease

Beyond investment in tomorrow, the BRIC nations need healthcare information and medications today. Through partnerships with such organizations as the China National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases we strive to raise disease awareness and enhance access to our medicines and vaccines. These efforts include projects related to chronic and infectious diseases. For instance, we have worked to have our cholesterol-lowering medicine, simvastatin, included in China’s central drug system.

In our attempt to reduce diabetes, we have already had good success in India, which has one of the world’s highest rates of the disease. Our SPARSH (meaning “touch” in Hindi) Healthline program—a Hyderabad-based call center for diabetes patients—offers free disease education and customized diet and exercise mentoring. Since 2009, SPARSH benefits have become available to more than 7,000 patients across the subcontinent.

The BRIC nations also need improved protection from infectious diseases. For example, in the 1980s China experienced a hepatitis B epidemic in which 1 in 10 children was a carrier. Working with the Chinese government, Merck donated its hepatitis B vaccine and transferred the manufacturing technology so the vaccine could be produced locally in China. This dramatically decreased the number of hepatitis B carriers—which is now down to 1 child in 100.

Our broad vaccines portfolio also offers the opportunity to significantly improve health in India. The MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories—a not-for-profit R&D enterprise launched in 2009—aims to develop high-impact, affordable vaccines for people in developing countries. Their first initiative is to evaluate new technologies for producing a rotavirus vaccine that can be distributed and administered in a stable, simple and transportable way.

Increasing Innovation

To sustain innovation in the BRICs, homegrown projects must prosper. Scientific capabilities in these nations are strengthening rapidly, which is proof that great science knows no borders. Merck recently announced a statement of intent with BGI (formerly known as Beijing Genomics Institute) to develop a relationship in R&D to create value from the massive output of genomic information made available through DNA sequencing and analysis. We also signed a statement of mutual intent with Sinopharm, China’s largest pharmaceutical and health industrial group, to cooperate on HPV vaccines and other vaccine products. In April 2011, Merck/MDS also announced a joint venture with India’s Sun Pharmaceutical Industries to develop, manufacture and commercialize new combinations and formulations of “innovative, branded generics” that are designed to enhance convenience and improve compliance for patients. We believe that improvements in health management in the BRICs will encourage an increase in the number of region and country partnerships and alliances.

Our company realizes that we can only succeed in the BRIC nations by listening to our customers there and forging real partnerships with them. We are optimistic that by working together with groups and governments in the BRIC countries we can advance our mission to discover, develop and provide innovative products and services that save and improve lives.