The Development of the Drug to Treat Onchocerciasis - Essay Example

Merck has been successful in developing a medicine that could cure ‘river blindness’ or onchocerciasis. I strongly agree that Merck should be given a tribute for discovering a new drug that could be a parasite called Onchocerca volvulus. (Remme, 2004)  Multi-point Argument on Thesis Statement:  Cons of the Issue Based on the Animal Bill of Rights, animals should be “free from exploitation, cruelty, neglect, and abuse while the laboratory animals are not supposed to be used in cruel or unnecessary experiments.” (ALDF, 2007) Therefore, animals should not be used in laboratory experiments, particularly in testing new drugs. Conclusion   It is good that the people behind Merck have contributed a lot of their time and effort in searching for an effective drug that could treat onchocerciasis. Without the researchers and innovators behind Merck, a lot of less fortunate African people that live in nearby rivers and works on farm would still suffer from the said epidemic disease. Many of them would still go through the process of losing their eyesight and develop some uncontrollable itching, swelling, and thickening of the skin. (Salaam, 2002) If only Merck uses alternative methods such as ‘micro dosing’ in new drug experiments (Rowland, 2006) instead of using animals in their experiment, the result of the company’s success in developing Mectizan® would have been so much better for all of us. Case # 2: Merck and Vioxx   Q: How appropriately did Merck act regarding its promotion of Vioxx?   Thesis Statement:  25 words or less/ summary sentence “The Fallacy Behind the Marketing Promotion of Vioxx®”   Multi-point Argument on Thesis Statement When Vioxx® was subjected to pre-clinical and clinical data, the drug was found to have side effects, particularly on the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal safety of the users. (Martin, 2006a) Despite knowing the harmful effects of Vioxx®, the company decided to continue selling the drugs. The company collaborated with the FDA not to include the NSAID-class gastrointestinal warning on its label but instead, to modify it. (Martin, 2006a)  As early as 1997, questions about the cardiovascular safety of Vioxx® have been raised. (Martin, 2006b) Since Merck has modified the warning label on Vioxx®, a lot of consumers were not provided with a more solid warning with regards to the use of the product.  Read More