It s where I live, where I play, where I worship. Malden Mills will rebuild right here, he said. A number of years ago, a Merck scientist discovered that an adaptation of one of the company s drugs could be used to kill the parasite that causes a disease called river blindness. The disease starts with a seemingly innocuous insect bite that allows the parasites to lay the larvae of worms which eventually grow to two feet in length in the body. Over time, these worms produce thousands of microscopic worms.
Victims can experience suffering so severe that some elect suicide rather than endure the pain.
A common result of the disease is a scarring of the eye that produces blindness. The disease afflicts mainly people in the Third World, particularly parts of Africa and Central and South America. Merck tried in vain to obtain financial support to help offset the costs of developing the drug and getting it where it was needed. We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits.