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PHI 445 Week 3 Assignment Case Analysis, Pharmaceutical
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Running head: CASE ANALYSIS FOR MERCK PHARMACEUTICALS 1PHI 445 Week 3 Assignment Case Analysis,
Pharmaceutical
Week 3 Assignment
Case Analysis for Merck Pharmaceuticals
NAME
PHI 445 Personal & Organizational Ethics
Instructor
DATE
, Case Analysis for Merck Pharmaceuticals 2
Introduction
Social Responsibility is defined as “the obligation an organization’s management team
has towards the welfare and interests of the society in which it operates.” (Business Dictionary,
2018) For Merck Pharmaceutical, social responsibility is taken very seriously. Merck
Pharmaceuticals are one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, having discovered
many lifesaving medications. Merck’s objective is to “support policies that promote the
discovery of innovative medicines and vaccines and make these products available to all who
need them.” (Merck, 2018) In this case study Merck has discovered a medication that could
eradicate an entire disease called River Blindness. River blindness affects millions of individuals
in Africa and is caused by a parasite that is transmitted through black flies. The parasite lives in
the skin of the body causing severe itching and eventually moving to the eye, causing scaring
and thus, blindness. Merck discovered that a medication called Mectizan could rid the body of all
parasites with one pill and keep them from infestation for a years’ time. (Annual Review, 2012)
The problem, however, is that the people affected by River Blindness were “the poorest of the
poor” and would not be able to afford to buy this medication. (Annual Review, 2012) This
created a conflict for Merck; were they to remain faithful to their investors and market the
medication even though profits were unlikely, or were they to provide the medication to those
who needed it? Choosing to give the medication away would cost the shareholders money
because there is still cost involved with research and production that would not be recovered
through profits. Choosing to market the medication would still cost just as much, but the
likelihood of the medication being bought was low. Merck founder, George Merck, said “Never
forget, medicine is for the People, not for the profits.” (Merck, 2018) With this philosophy in
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