{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,19]],"date-time":"2026-09-19T07:17:55Z","timestamp":1789802275482,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,8,10]],"date-time":"2016-08-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1470787200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Tropical Med Int Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2016,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>Using the example of Merck's donations of ivermectin, to show how tax incentives and non\u2010profit collaborators can make corporate largesse consistent with obligations to maximise returns to shareholders.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We obtained information from publicly available data and estimated Merck's tax deductions according to the <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">US<\/jats:styled-content> Internal Revenue Code. Reviews of Merck\u2010Kitasato contracts and personal interviews provided additional information regarding key lessons from this collaboration.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Our best estimate of the direct cost to Merck of the ivermectin tablets donated during 2005\u20132011 is around <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">US<\/jats:styled-content>$ 600 million, well below the stated value of <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">US<\/jats:styled-content>$ 3.8 billion. Our calculation of tax write\u2010offs reduces the net cost to around <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">US<\/jats:styled-content>$ 180 million in that period. Indirect market benefits and effects on goodwill further enhanced the compatibility of Merck's donation programme with the company's profit\u2010maximising objective. The case offers lessons for effective management of collaborations with public and non\u2010profit organisations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Merck's role in the donation of ivermectin for the treatment of onchocerciasis is widely and justly acknowledged as a prime example of corporate largesse in the public interest. It is nevertheless important to note that several public and non\u2010profit collaborators, and United States taxpayers, played significant roles in increasing Merck's incentives, and indeed ability, to conduct the donation programme that changed so many lives in poor countries, while meeting its responsibilities to shareholders. Overall, the record indicates responsible corporate management of Merck's ivermectin programme and demonstrates the feasibility of socially responsible policies in a manner compatible with obligations to shareholders.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/tmi.12759","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,26]],"date-time":"2016-07-26T14:12:41Z","timestamp":1469542361000},"page":"1304-1310","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Doing well while fighting river blindness: the alignment of a corporate drug donation programme with responsibilities to shareholders"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Yolanda","family":"Hernando","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Edafolog\u00eda y Biolog\u00eda Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient\u00edficas (CSIC) Espinardo Murcia Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaela","family":"Colwell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics University of California Berkeley CA USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian D.","family":"Wright","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics University of California Berkeley CA USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,8,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_5_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(12)60723-5"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511616860"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1179\/136485908X337418"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_5_1","unstructured":"Merck.On world sight day Merck and partners mark 25 years of successful collaboration to help eliminate river blindness 2012. 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