ISENTRESS Awarded Prix Galien USA Top Honor

ISENTRESS (raltegravir) Awarded Prix Galien USA Top Honor

ISENTRESS™ (raltegravir), Merck Sharp & Dohme's medicine for HIV/AIDS, recently received the Prix Galien USA 2008 Award for Best Pharmaceutical Agent.

"We are delighted that more than a decade of work by Merck researchers has been recognised with such a prestigious award," said Dr. Peter S. Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories. "We congratulate the hard working and dedicated people who developed this product."

The Prix Galien recognises the pharmaceutical industry's outstanding achievement in the development of new medicines. An internationally recognised award, the Prix Galien was founded in France in 1969 by French pharmacist, Roland Mehl, and the 2007 ceremony was the Prix Galien's inaugural event in the United States. The Prix Galien, often considered the industry's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, is the highest accolade for pharmaceutical research and development.

The award was presented at a ceremony in New York City on Sept. 24, and follows previous Prix Galien top honors awarded to Merck in 2007. In addition former Merck CEO P. Roy Vagelos, M.D., was given the prestigious Pro Bono Humanum Award for his dedication to improved global health through Merck's ongoing campaign to eliminate river blindness (onchocerciasis).

ISENTRESS was recently registered for use in New Zealand and an application for funding is currently being reviewed by PHARMAC.

ENDS

10-09 RTG-08-NZ-5283-PR
TAPS Approval No: NA CH2094

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Isentress information

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