Merck Announces Collaboration with the American Diabetes Association to Educate Adults with Diabetes About Increased Risk for Serious Diseases like Pneumococcal Pneumonia
March 26, 2015 8:30 am ET
Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada,
today announced a collaboration with the American Diabetes Association
(ADA). The collaboration aims to educate adults with diabetes about
their increased risk for potentially serious health problems, including
pneumococcal pneumonia, influenza (flu) and hepatitis B, making it
important for people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes to talk to their
health care professional (HCP) about these diseases.
“It is important for health care providers to help their diabetic
patients understand their increased risk for infections, and to discuss
the best approach to managing this increased risk. For example, adults
with diabetes are three times more likely to develop pneumococcal
pneumonia compared to adults without diabetes,” said Mel Kohn, M.D.,
M.P.H., medical director, Merck. “There is therefore a need to increase
conversations by HCPs on the levels of risk for these infections in this
patient population.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 29.1
million people, or 9.3%, of the U.S. population have diabetes (it is
estimated that of this population, 21 million people are diagnosed and
8.1 million people remain undiagnosed). Each year, 1.7 million new cases
of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older.
The ADA’s Professional Practice Committee’s yearly Standards of Medical
Care in Diabetes notes that ongoing patient self-management education
and support are critical to preventing acute complications, and reducing
the risk of long-term complications. The Committee also notes that good
communication with HCPs can help people with diabetes feel in control
and respond to the challenges that come with the disease.
“Our work with Merck will help disseminate the very important message to
the diabetes community that keeping up-to-date on recommended HCP
appointments, and being aware of risk factors and how to minimize
additional complications are critical to maintaining good health,” said
Jane Chiang, M.D., senior vice president, medical and community affairs,
American Diabetes Association.
About Merck
Today’s Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be
well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.
Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and
animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than
140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also
demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through
far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information,
visit www.merck.com
and connect with us on Twitter,
Facebook
and YouTube.
About The American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to Stop Diabetes
and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes.
The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes;
delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and
credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights
because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, the ADA’s mission is to prevent
and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by
diabetes.
For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at
1-800-DIABETES (800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org.
Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.
Merck Forward-Looking Statement
This news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based
upon the current beliefs and expectations of Merck’s management and are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying
assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize,
actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general
industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including
interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of
pharmaceutical industry regulation and healthcare legislation in the
United States and internationally; global trends toward healthcare cost
containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained
by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development,
including obtaining regulatory approval; Merck’s ability to accurately
predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays;
financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk;
dependence on the effectiveness of Merck’s patents and other protections
for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including
patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be
found in Merck’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) available at
the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
Merck
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