Meanwhile, On A Quiet Mountain Saturday... Merck Made Some More Encouraging (And Laudatory) News, This Week...

With two entirely separate, bi-coastal (now to be CSPAN/CNN televised) Court of Appeals arguments scheduled next week in the Muslim Ban 3.0 cases, and Flynn entering a "singing canary" plea agreement -- AND Trump retweeting alt-right-faux-snuff-videos (Seriously?!). . . AND -- this very morning, December 2, being the 47^th anniversary of the official opening of the doors of the US EPA, in DC (though first EPA Administrator Ruckelshaus didn't take his oath of office until Monday, December 4^th). . . we have strayed, and delayed, on reporting in our power alley. And that's all matters. . . Merck, the US company.

Merck did a wonderful thing this week. And no, I don't mean boosting the dividend, and upping the buyback authority, late on Tuesday. Those make Wall and Broad happy (true enough), while this one likely does not. But it is clearly the right thing to do.

This one involves giving away hundreds of millions more doses of ivermectin in Africa through 2025. This one expands Merck's now 30 year commitment to ending river blindness -- banishing that dread condition from the face of the Earth, along with elephantitis. And doing so at a more rapid pace than ever before thought possible:

. . . .[Kenilworth] announced an expansion of the MECTIZAN® Donation Program (MDP) to reach up to an additional 100 million people per year through 2025 as part of the global effort to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF).

Through the MDP, established by Merck in 1987, Merck donates MECTIZAN® (ivermectin) for onchocerciasis (river blindness) in all affected areas (Latin America, Africa, Yemen) and for LF in African countries where it co-exists with river blindness.

LF, also known as elephantiasis, is a parasitic disease transmitted to humans through the bites of mosquitoes. Over time, infection can impair the lymphatic system leading to severe swelling of the limbs and genitals resulting in severe disability and social stigma. One of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), it is present in 72 countries worldwide.

Recent studies funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and supported by Merck showed that adding ivermectin to the treatment regimen used in LF endemic countries where there is no river blindness can accelerate the time needed to achieve elimination of LF. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published new guidelines outlining this approach, prompting Merck’s decision to expand the geographic reach of the MDP to include areas outside of Africa. Merck and the MDP will work with the WHO, national LF programs and other stakeholders to develop a mechanism to enable national programs and their partners to deploy the additional donation.

“LF is on the short list of diseases that are targeted for elimination in the World Health Organization’s Roadmap on Neglected Tropical Diseases,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “With the evidence put forward in the WHO’s new guidelines, we’re expanding the MECTIZAN® Donation Program to bring improved health and hope to millions of people as we work toward the day when LF is no longer a threat. . . .”

So now you know. . . but with Merck now largely steady state, these sorts of updates will give way to updates on the state of human life sciences, more broadly. To the extent that I can find the time, of course. [I should also say that I see only a small chance that the House and Senate tax bills can be harmonized. But we shall see.] Now go be excellent to all those you love -- and try to be better than you have to be. . . indeed, even to those who purportedly hold "wrong numbers". . . . smile.

Local Emmys are tonight -- and we shall see, from a distance. . . .

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