MSD bares personalized medicine & miracle cures

This 2012, I promise to be healthy,” swear many Pinoys as they jot down their New Year’s resolutions. With today’s vigorous wellness movement, many of the recent resolutions were undoubtedly along this line. Like many other Pinoys, I am hoping to be blessed with a clean bill of health this 2012. But exactly where does one begin?

My recent visit to Merck’s US headquarters at the Whitehouse Station in New Jersey was so apt for the New Year’s health-conscious movement. The future of health and wellness is bright and exciting. And that’s because of the recent breakthroughs in science and medicine, which we used to only see in sci-fi movies.

At the forefront of medical advancement and technology is pharmaceutical giant Merck. Known as MSD in the Philippines, it’s a global leader in delivering innovative health solutions through medicines, vaccines, and biologic therapies.

“Merck has been known to make first-in-class products,” says Dr. Luciano Rossetti, senior vice president for Global Scientific Strategy.

Merck’s US headquarters at the Whitehouse Station in New Jersey where breakthroughs in science and medicine are made

Being first in medical innovation is serious business, considering the intense research and millions worth of investment that go into creating a pioneering medical breakthrough. With MSD’s brilliant roster of products, it has indeed made waves in medical innovation  from developing life-saving vaccines to creating curative therapies and pills. Moving forward, MSD’s quest now is “to create a balance between first-in-class products and best-in-class products,” declares Rossetti.

Michael Kamarck, president of Merck Bioventures, echoes Rossetti’s sentiments, “Merck is both an originator and one that pursues the biosimilar approach.” This means that MSD will not only create new health solutions, but also replicate successful treatments, and more so improve on solutions already available. Transforming from being a renowned innovator to being the best in the business entails a thorough understanding of today’s healthcare needs.

MSD shares exciting developments in health technologies and paints a picture of the future of science and medicine. Medicines should be readily available. With a full understanding of the cultural complexities and regulatory hurdles specific to different regions, MSD remains intent on “improving healthcare through better access to medicines in emerging markets,” shares Dr. Agustin Melian, head of emerging markets in clinical development based in Merck’s Whitehouse Station HQ. Together with Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Middle East, Asia Pacific is touted to be an emerging market, promising more innovations and growth for MSD. In the same light, these areas, including the Philippines as part of Asia Pacific, could benefit greatly from efforts that “focus on the direct needs of the emerging markets, offering solutions that are relevant to our specific health needs,” adds Melian.

Merck is known for the creation of medicinal “miracles,” and in the pipeline are cures for many life-threatening and debilitating diseases.

Medicines will be personalized. Before, medicines were prescribed based on the disease, but Dr. Jing Li, genomics screening head at MSD’s hub in New Jersey, stresses that it’s equally or even more important to view patients as unique individuals. Leading the way in this school of research are studies in oncology, and only rightly so because treatments in oncology highly differ from case to case.

“The goal of personalized medicine in oncology and other studies is to try to identify the right drug for the right disease, for the right patient at the right time, with the right dosage,” explains Li. Because of this high level of specificity, personalized medicine involves an intense screening process and very sophisticated tests and tools. Caroline Lappetito, who works in external communications of Merck, states that this investment works both ways: “While the costs of such research and technology are high, they also allow for a very thorough procedure that provides the capacity to detect earlier if a treatment is effective. This way, Merck can make a decision earlier whether to continue, abort, or move on and redirect resources towards the study of molecules that have higher rates of success.”

 Merck is also known for the creation medicinal “miracles,” and in the pipeline are cures for many life-threatening and debilitating diseases. Rossetti runs down a list of medicines that will spell the future of wellness. In the works are treatments for osteoporosis, chronic insomnia, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s, and many other illnesses. Soon, patients will have access to medicines that will drastically improve the quality of their lives. Likewise, MSD is seeking to improve existing treatments and medicines to make products that are better and way more effective. Experts Dr. Nancy Thornberry, head of diabetes studies, and Dr. Lisa Pedicone, global director for science affairs and lead for hepatitis studies, both attest that in their fields of research, existing treatments are constantly improved upon through rigorous tests and research. Already, wondrous treatments, like diabetes’ Januvia, HPV’s Gardasil, and soon, hepatitis C’s Victrelis are all in a constant state of improvement, paving the way for good health today and even better health in the future.

MSD employs robotics, the best chemists and engineers in creating vaccines to prevent the world’s harmful diseases.

 The marriage of technology and science develops life-changing vaccines. A visit to the MSD plant in Pennsylvania gives one a grasp of how meticulous and tedious the vaccination-making process can be. Creating vaccines to prevent the world’s harmful diseases requires employing only the best chemists and engineers, and using only the most sophisticated of medical technology  think robotics, hi-tech analyses software, sophisticated machines, and computers.

“Every step of the procedure must be sterile and methodical,” says Dr. Jacks Lee, vice president of global vaccines technology and engineering. As opposed to simply directing research on treating diseases after they happen, Rossetti adds, “MSD invests highly in creating vaccines because the impact of vaccines on human health is enormous. Aside from giving stability to the business, the difference vaccines can make to human life is higher.”