How the Program Works

Our Vision

The Mectizan Donation Program (MDP) vision is to work with partners to achieve a future free of river blindness (onchocerciasis) and lymphatic filariasis (LF or elephantiasis).

What We Do

The MDP Mandate

As mandated by Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., U.S.A.,* MDP—through the guidance of the Mectizan Expert Committee—facilitates good stewardship of the donation and delivery of Mectizan® (ivermectin), the frontline medication used to eliminate river blindness worldwide. For the elimination of LF in countries where the two diseases are co-endemic, Mectizan is co-administered with albendazole, donated by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Mectizan is also co-administered with diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and albendazole to accelerate the elimination of LF in eligible countries where river blindness is not endemic.

MDP is the secretariat for the Mectizan Expert Committee (MEC), an independent body—established by Merck—of nine internationally recognized experts in the fields of public health, tropical disease, and social science. The MEC also serves as a coordination body for the donation of albendazole by GSK in countries where river blindness is co-endemic and in countries eligible for IDA. The MEC’s Albendazole Coordination (AC) efforts ensure that the donations of Mectizan and Albendazole are coordinated to combat LF effectively. The MEC provides scientific, medical, and technical oversight of the donation of Mectizan to ensure it is used with good medical practice and to ensure the donation is stewarded effectively.

Key Activities

Supply Mectizan to Endemic Countries

Safety Monitoring & Reporting

Country Performance Monitoring

Leadership in the Global River Blindness and LF Elimination Efforts

Communications, Advocacy, and Partnership

*Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., U.S.A., is known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada