A CMO is a contract manufacturing organization. We use them when it makes sense. CMOs are the norm for pharmaceutical manufacturing. Today, 70% of pharmaceutical companies outsource their manufacturing.

Yes, but if the government or organization prefers the shipments to go straight from the CMO to warehouses in country, that might be more cost effective.

Many countries can still access medicine donations in bottles. However, as companies move to restrict their donations (either to areas with prevalence above a defined threshold or to low-income countries and away from middle-income countries), certain countries and organizations wish to procure their own medicines and prefer blister packaging. Bend Biomedical provides the medicines in this type of packaging while following the World Health Organization guidelines for MDA. If you would like to know what drugs are still donated, and what drugs are planned to be phased out, and when, please contact the Task Force for Global Health.

EISAI donates some, but other than that, they have been approached and are not interested. Because medicines in bottles are being supplied to governments and organizations at no cost, the makers are unwilling to change the packaging or otherwise improve products; they are also reluctant to allow products to leave their direct control to be blister-packaged elsewhere.

After negotiations with many manufacturers and CMOs, we decided to go with Piramal Mumbai (albendazole) and Piramal Mahad (high-dose vitamin A).

We believe, especially for community-based mass drug administration, that the dosage form (tablets, chewable tablets, capsules, liquids, etc.) should be familiar to, and suitable for, the recipients based on location and age. In most cases the appropriate packaging is drugs in blister packs. Labels and instructions should be included in languages that patients can read.

Sometimes pills are too big for children. To prevent choking, tablets are commonly crushed before administering them. In some cases though it doesn’t work well, and the preferred form would be dihydrates as liquid or in soft gel caps that can be opened with scissors or nail clippers and the liquid squeezed into the child’s mouth.

They are persons with inapparent infection but capable of transmitting the pathogen to others. Asymptomatic reservoirs are sometimes called passive or healthy “carriers.” They never experience symptoms despite being infected. Thus the need for mass drug administration to treat everyone, especially when diagnostics are not feasible.

Although drug combinations on blisters are convenient, sometimes they are not practical. Single-drug blister packs are what the doctors on the ground are calling for. Single-drug packs also make a lot of sense and give us an opportunity to look at different markets, e.g., ivermectin for scabies or strongyloides or in combination for trichuris. It does seem like single-drug ivermectin is being used in cocktails against many diseases.

Blister packs are regarded as the more environmentally-friendly option. They are child-resistant and reduce plastic use by more than 80%.

Right now we are planning versions at least in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, French, Chinese, Russian, Swahili, and Arabic.  

No. While we originated as an interfaith charity, we have since broadened our scope to welcome all individuals. Participation in our initiatives, whether through donations or receiving aid, is open to everyone, irrespective of religious affiliation.

Yes. Our tax identification number is 85-1955977.