08/14/2008 08h10
Brazil joins Merck Sharp research network
Gazeta Mercantil - 08/14/2008
Brazil will receive investments from Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) again in the area of clinical studies. After a period in which it reduced considerably the researches, due to bureaucracy, the Brazilian subsidiary of Merck & Co. has just chosen two centers for the treatment of cancer of the Country to join the international network that will carry out clinical studies in stage I aimed at the development of medicines for the treatment of cancer. The Cancer Institute of the University of São Paulo (USP) and the National Institute of Cancer Control (INCA), in Rio de Janeiro, have been the two centers chosen by the Vice-President, Eliav Barr, for the clinical research in cancer for Merck, responsible for the development of the Gardasil vaccine (which prevents colon cancer). According to the medical director of Merck, Dr. Jose Octávio Costa Filho, the Country has great technical capacity which was identified in the rigorous selection made by the company. According to the agreement, the laboratories start making part of great pool, formed by 9 centers spread throughout the world, of international researches, in which information regarding the disease and the evolution of treatments are exchanged. In 2006, MSD invested US$ 12 million in the Country, an amount that fell to US$ 8 million the following year. "For this year, we are reviewing the amount and we should also increase it for the next years", says Costa Filho. The stage I study will include nearly 20 patients. According to sources from the pharmaceutical market, Brazil is an excellent place to perform this type of research since its population is formed by several ethnic groups, such as Europeans, Asians and Africans. And that allows greater responses to the studies. Besides, the researches bring an inestimable knowledge for the Country about the diseases and the modern treatment technologies available. In Brazil, Merck Sharp & Dohme already carries out studies in stages II, III and IV, but that is the first time the Country is chosen to develop the first and most important step of clinical research since it is in stage I scientists discover how the new substance works in the organism, evaluate their safety, the form of administration and allows it to go to the next stage.
