September 01, 2000
Former Merck CEO inaugurates Science, Ethics & Society Initiative
Last February a new joint initiative between the Center for Ethics and the Program in Science & Society of the Faculty Science Council brought world-renowned scientist and business revolutionary Dr. P. Roy Vagelos to campus to inaugurate an annual speaker series.
To celebrate the Science, Ethics, & Society Initiative, we sought a speaker who could address the broad spectrum of ethical, social, and scientific concerns encompassed within such a program. Dr. Vagelos fit the bill perfectly. As he led an interactive afternoon workshop and gave an evening lecture, Dr. Vagelos demonstrated his ability to form connecting links among the disciplines and to foster meaningful dialogue among students and professionals–from business to public health to medicine and basic science.
Dr. Vagelos joined his friends President and Mrs. Carter, Dr. William Foege (head of the program that eradicated smallpox from the planet, and currently Emory Presidential Distinguished Professor in Public Health) and Center staff for a dinner of conversation and reminiscences that those present will never forget. Indeed, their stories are remarkable: because of the efforts of Carter, Foege, and Vagelos, the lives of millions of people worldwide have been saved and improved.
Trained as a biochemist, Dr. Vagelos began his career in academic medicine working at the National Institutes of Health and later at Washington University in St. Louis. Attracted to the private sector by pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Dr. Vagelos became CEO and Board Chairman in 1985, after a year as President of Research Laboratories. His ability to recruit and challenge top scientists transformed Merck & Co. into the industry leader in drug discovery and development. He retired from the company in 1994.
During his tenure at Merck, Dr. Vagelos oversaw a number of programs that earned him the reputation of being “America’s Medicine Man.” In 1987, with President Carter, Dr. Vagelos went to Africa to begin the “free in perpetuity” distribution of Mectizan, a miracle drug that virtually cures River Blindness. As Dr. Vagelos explained it, River Blindness is a disease that, over many years, cripples and robs its victims of their sight. Most of those who suffer from this blight live in unbelievable poverty and cannot afford even a minimal drug or prescription cost. Faced with the choice of having a potential cure sit on a shelf or giving it away for free, Dr. Vagelos made the then unheard-of decision to make the drug available at no cost. The remaining cost of distribution was raised through non-profit organizations, and distribution logistics were coordinated by the Task Force for Child Survival and Development, led by William Foege. In his response to Dr. Vagelos’ public presentation at Emory, Dr. Foege praised Dr. Vagelos as “The Father of Pharmaco-philanthropy.”
Another remarkable endeavor that earned Dr. Vagelos his “Medicine Man” title involved a 1990 technology export program with China. With rates of acquired chronic hepatitis B running rampant in China, Dr. Vagelos led Merck in providing the vaccine technology to Chinese engineers that would stem the progression of the disease, teaching them how to make the vaccine so that it would be readily available in their country.
But philanthropy cannot sustain itself forever without accompanying business acumen. During his Emory visit, Dr. Vagelos underscored that Merck’s ability to undertake philanthropic ventures rested squarely on its success in the drug development and marketing business. Further, as the CEO of a publicly traded corporation, Vagelos had a duty to steward Merck’s shareholders’ resources carefully. But he managed to do so without compromising Merck’s commitment to social outreach. By cultivating a mission firmly grounded in improving human life, Vagelos helped employees and stock holders to view Merck’s ventures not as a giving away of profit, but as a fulfilling of their responsibility to be good corporate citizens.
In this blending of business talent, scientific savvy, and social commitment, Dr. Vagelos has crafted an enduring legacy that encapsulates the mission and aims of the new Science, Ethics, and Society Initiative.
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