On the surface, Mectizan would not be a very profitable drug to bring to mar¬ket. The once-a-year dosage limits the demand for the drug among those people who require it. Further, the individuals most at risk for this disease are among the poorest people living in the poorest regions of Africa, Asia, central America, and South America. In 1987 Merck began a prograrnthat provides Mectizan free of charge to people at risk for river blindness. Cooperating with-the World Heath Organization, UNICEF, and the World Bank, Merck's program has donated more than 700 million tablets of Mectizan distributed to 40 million people each year since 1987. The program has also resulted in the development of a health care system, necessary to support and administer the program, in some of the poorest regions of the world. In 1998 Merck expanded the program to include people at risk for lymphatic filariasis (commonly known as elephantiasis). By 2004 Merck estimated that this program reached an additional 20 million people. By all accounts, Merck's Mectizan Donation Program has significantly improved the lives of tens of millions of the most vulnerable people on earth. Merck's actions were explained by reference to part of its corporate identity statement: "We are in the business of preserving and improving human life.