[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 4 (Monday, February 2, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 A NEW INITIATIVE AGAINST ELEPHANTIASIS

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, in the global battle against 
infectious diseases, inaccessibility to safe and effective drugs 
remains a major obstacle for developing countries. The lack of the 
public health infrastructure to respond effectively to infectious 
diseases contributes to widespread and needless suffering. Even where 
that infrastructure exists, many of the world's poor cannot afford the 
price of drugs.
  But many disfiguring and debilitating diseases can be prevented at 
minimal cost--in some cases with just one pill, once a year, for as 
little as a few cents per dose. Last May, the Foreign Operations 
Subcommittee heard testimony about the need for pharmaceutical 
companies and governments to work together to combat infectious 
diseases around the world. Dr. Gordon Douglas, the President of Merck 
Vaccines, described the company's success with the donation of its 
drug, Mectizan, in fighting river blindness. Since 1987, Merck has 
treated 18 million people, spending $70 million on the program in 1996 
alone. While the global elimination of river blindness is not expected 
until at least 2007, Merck has made an invaluable contribution toward 
this goal.
  Last November, Congress provided an additional $50 million to 
strengthen global surveillance and control the spread of infectious 
diseases. On December 16, 1997, amid alarming reports about the Hong 
Kong flu, the U.S. Agency for International Development gathered public 
health experts from around the world to set priorities and develop a 
U.S. strategy to support the global campaign against infectious 
diseases. And then on January 26, 1998, Smithkline Beecham, one of the 
world's largest pharmaceutical companies, announced that it was taking 
on elephantiasis, one of the world's most disabling and disfiguring 
tropical diseases which afflicts some 120 million people, and endangers 
as many as one billion people. Smithkline Beecham has generously agreed 
to provide for free an anti-parasitic drug called Albendazole to combat 
this scourge. The company estimates that it will spend some $500 
million over the next two decades working with the World Health 
Organization to tackle elephantiasis in parts of Africa, Asia, the 
Pacific Islands, and Central and South America. Over time, the effort 
could even lead to the eventual elimination of this horrible disease. 
In addition to protecting against elephantiasis, it is predicted that 
the yearly distribution of Albendazole will improve the health of 
millions of children who suffer from chronic intestinal parasites.
  Mr. President, Merck and Smithkline deserve our praise and gratitude. 
This kind of cooperative initiative between governments and private 
industry is a model for how we can combat infectious diseases in the 
years ahead, and in doing so make life better for millions and millions 
of people.

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