Logistics and express company DHL has announced an agreement with global pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) for the delivery of medicines to cure a disease that causes blindness.

The Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) subsidiary has been given a key role in the 18-year-old Merck Mectizan Donation Programme.  MSD’s flagship corporate social responsibility activity is the largest ongoing medical donation programme in history and supplies Mectizan, a miracle cure for the disease river blindness, free to 35 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
DHL has signed up to offer at-cost shipping of the treatment from MSD’s facility in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Supplies of the medicine will be carried to endemic countries through DHL’s air express services.
This latest agreement builds on an existing relationship between DHL and MSD and combines the core capabilities of the two companies to ensure rapid and flexible delivery of the drug. DHL’s partnership with MSD is crucial to meeting the needs of the more than 45 million people a year who receive Mectizan to treat river blindness. As many as 18 million people are living with the disease, while another 100 million remain at risk.
Phil Couchman, DHL Middle East regional director, said: “DHL is committed to this project and others like it that can make a difference to people’s lives. Medical supply logistics is one of our core areas of expertise and we are proud to be involved.
“The signing of this agreement strengthens our relationship with MSD and ensures that cheap transport is available for the medicine so there is no hindrance to its rapid delivery to critical areas.”
MSD has expanded the programme to offer treatment against lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), another parasitic disease, in Yemen and Africa where the two diseases co-exist. Lymphatic filariasis is a threat to more than 1 billion people.
Michel Iguer, MSD’s regional director and vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “MSD’s mission of putting patients first means it is not enough to simply discover and develop novel medicines and vaccines. We also have a responsibility to pursue creative and effective partnerships, such as this one with DHL that can help bring crucial medicines to people around the world. This agreement is evidence of DHL’s commitment to using its logistics expertise to benefit the global community.”
DHL’s worldwide delivery service for drugs and medicines operates through its dedicated Life Sciences logistics business unit. Robert Krautheim, global head of DHL Life Sciences, said: “Our mission to provide customised solutions to the life science industry is further enhanced when we have an opportunity to contribute to this type of humanitarian programme.”