Merck announces $1.5M funding commitment over three years to BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

$1.5-million contribution to evaluate the provincial initiative to expand HIV/AIDS treatment and care in Prince George and Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

Today, Merck is pleased to announce its $1.5 million funding commitment over three years to the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) in support of its research program entitled "Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS", known as the "seek & treat" program, which will expand HIV treatment and care for hard-to-reach residents in Prince George and Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

This investment complements the announcement also made today by BC Health Minister Kevin Falcon, regarding the BC government support to this project.

Through the seek and treat research program, health professionals will expand HAART coverage (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy) and thereby the treatment and care to HIV-positive people in these marginalized communities.

"The BC-CfE is a pioneer in HIV/AIDS research, and continues to be a leader in the global effort to provide innovative therapies and healthcare strategies to combat this epidemic," said Gregg Szabo, Vice-president, Specialty Products at Merck. "We are proud to support the BC-CfE and honoured to stand along side the B.C. government in this effort to expand care for British Columbians living with HIV/AIDS and reduce further HIV infections in the province and throughout Canada."

The HAART approach, developed in part by Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, involves medication cocktails provided to medically eligible HIV sufferers with the objective being to slow HIV disease progression to AIDS and death. More recently, BC-CfE researchers have found that HAART can also significantly reduce the risk of disease transmission and decrease the overall HIV burden in the community.

"Merck has been involved in AIDS research and treatment since the early nineties. As a leader in treatment for HIV/AIDS, it was natural for our organization to support Dr. Montaner and the BC Centre of Excellence in HIV/AIDS in this world class initiative, of which we believe may lead to best practices in AIDS treatment around the world," added Szabo.

The BC-CfE initially proposed the seek and treat strategy in 2005 and published in the Lancet in 2006. Today, this made-in-B.C. strategy has won widespread acclaim within the global scientific community and endorsement from leading researchers and international health organizations such as the WHO and UNAIDS.

"Funding from Merck for our seek and treat program is critical to winning the fight against HIV/AIDS and identifying best practices for the roll out of the seek and treat strategy locally & globally. This builds on the support the BC-CfE has received from the government of BC to pilot this initiative in the province," said Montaner, who is also head of the division of AIDS in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC and President of the International AIDS Society.

More than 12,000 people in B.C. are living with HIV, many in hard-hit areas such as Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and approximately 27% of them remain undiagnosed.

"Reaching out to people living on the streets, the mentally ill, and those with addictions will help people receive the HIV care and treatment they require, save lives and prevent further infections, making seek and treat a cost-averting proposition," said Montaner.