Ethicals: prescription medicines for prevalent diseases

Chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular pathologies are the main cause of death in industrialized countries. In Colombia, they also rank among the top ten causes of mortality. However, the implementation of treatments, along with change in habits and life styles of the patients will make that this conditions have no critical impact on the quality of life of those who suffer them.

The input of Merck to the treatment of these pathologies has been fundamental, because their medicines are oriented towards maintaining the disease under control so that the people improve their quality of life. In order to achieve this, the participation of the doctors has been vital, as they are the ones in charge of the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

The Ethicals business unit is divided into three therapeutic lines: cardiovascular, whose products are indicated in pathologies such as cardiac failure, intermittent failures and hypertension; metabolic, for endocrinology diseases as diabetes and hypo-thyroidism; and the primary care line, for the treatment of less complex pathologies in the gastrointestinal and muscular systems. This three-line structure is due to the necessity of developing specific therapies that result in improvements for the doctors and the patients.