The world’s second-largest Ebola virus outbreak on record erupted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in August, 2018. By December, 2019, according to the DRC Ministry of Health, there were more than 2,200 deaths and 3,200 confirmed cases of the highly infectious, life-threatening contagion, which spreads via direct contact with bodily fluids of someone who has the disease or who died from it. Of particular concern to World Health Organization (WHO) disease prevention experts is the fact that the outbreak is ongoing in areas where people regularly cross borders, moving back and forth between the DRC and other countries, such as Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda.
While the DRC and Ebola may seem a world away from the United States, this most recent Ebola outbreak (the largest-ever in the DRC) illustrates the global nature of communicable diseases. On our hyper-connected planet, the pathogens that cause disease can quickly travel around the world, meaning preventing outbreaks anywhere should be a priority everywhere.
Disease prevention is what drives the biopharmaceutical innovators at the global health care company Merck, which employs pioneering research and ingenuity to help develop new vaccines. Beginning in 1898 with a smallpox vaccine developed by its predecessor company, H.K. Mulford Company, Merck has been at the forefront of vaccine discovery and development.
From the late 1950s to early 1980s, for example, Merck medical scientist Dr. Maurice Hilleman, considered “the father of modern vaccines,” helped develop over 40 vaccines to protect human and animal health from serious illness. Hilleman’s legacy continues to inspire the current generation of Merck innovators, who helped develop vaccines used around the globe to help prevent a wide variety of diseases and viral infections, such as chickenpox/shingles, diphtheria, Hepatitis A and B, Haemophilus influenzae, Human papillomavirus (HPV), measles, pertussis (whooping cough), and pneumonia.
Most recently, Merck and its cooperating global partners—including the World Health Organization (WHO), national institutes of health, ministries of health in Africa, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Médecins Sans Frontières, and the European Innovative Medicines Initiative—put the power of scientific innovation to work in Africa to develop a breakthrough in the war against the Ebola virus. The injectable vaccine was initially developed during the 2014-16 West Africa Ebola epidemic, which resulted in more than 11,000 disease-related deaths.
According to the WHO, more than 236,000 people—including some 60,000 health and frontline workers in the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Burundi—have been immunized with the newest vaccine, which is manufactured by Merck and donated by the company to the WHO. Thanks, in part, to the immunization effort as well as the unique public-private partnerships that have come together to fight this killer, the number of new Ebola virus cases in the DRC have declined. An October 2019 report on Ebola virus disease in the DRC by the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee stated that the virus has been significantly contained, yet the outbreak remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
The effectiveness of the newest weapon against Ebola, has helped reduce the number of new cases and has led the WHO to prequalify the preventive treatment in November 2019. The WHO prequalification, which was expedited to address the critical public health need in at-risk countries in Africa, signals that the Ebola breakthrough meets stringent WHO standards for quality, safety, and efficacy standards.
As demonstrated by the global response to the Ebola virus outbreak in the DRC, ongoing investment in the discovery and development of new vaccines remains vital to protecting global public health. Earlier vaccines may have helped eliminate many diseases, such as polio in the U.S., which formerly debilitated or killed thousands of people, but deadly infectious outbreaks remain a threat. In addition to the documented Ebola virus outbreaks that have occurred in Africa for the past 40 years and continue to take place, other pathogens adapt to constantly changing environments, evolving to create new infectious diseases requiring innovative solutions.
Along with addressing urgent public health emergencies like Ebola virus outbreaks, biopharmaceutical research also regularly leads to ground-breaking discoveries that help people with chronic or potentially life-threatening conditions. Among the more recent discoveries are new therapeutic cancer vaccines, which train the body to protect itself against its own damaged or abnormal cells, including cancer cells.
As a science-driven global health care company, Merck is committed to investing in the cutting-edge research and state-of-the-facilities needed to achieve the next generation of health care breakthroughs. One notable example of the company’s investment is the new Merck regional hub in South San Francisco, home to the world’s largest biotech cluster, with more than 200 biotech companies.
Opened in 2019, Merck’s multi-disciplinary discovery research facility was designed with collaboration in mind. Interior elements, such as glass walls and flexible workspaces encourage interaction across disciplines, and the location—at the heart of vibrant South San Francisco biotech community—allows Merck to work with neighboring academic and business partners in pursuit of a shared goal: discovering and developing therapies like this latest vaccine, that help protect public health and improve lives.
Learn more about vaccines and Merck’s commitment to people through scientific innovation.
