PROJECT HOPE AIRLIFT TO PANAMA OF $2 MIL. IN DRUGS/MEDICAL SUPPLIES

PROJECT HOPE AIRLIFT TO PANAMA OF $2 MIL. IN DRUGS/MEDICAL SUPPLIES began Jan. 11, with donations from 23 U.S. manufacturers. Items contributed include antibiotics, anesthetics, antibacterials, anticoagulants, anti-inflammatories and antihypertensives, as well as general medical supplies such as sutures, bandages and syringes. Among the drug companies participating in the relief effort are Abbott Labs; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Burroughs Wellcome; Johnson & Johnson (and subsidiaries Ethicon and McNeil); Lederle; Lilly; Miles; Parke-Davis; Pfizer; Purdue Frederick; Quad; Roche; Schering; Upjohn; and Wyeth-Ayerst. Distribution within Panama will be supervised by Gasper Garcia de Paredes, a former minister of health. Project HOPE, located in Millwood, Va., has sponsored medical education programs in Panama since the early 1980s. The Connecticut-based relief organization AmeriCares is targeting a second round of shipments to Rumania for late in the week of Jan. 15. The group sent about $1.4 mil. in drugs and medical supplies to that country Jan. 5. AmeriCares solicited industry contributions following a request from the Knights of Malta, a Catholic humanitarian organization, an AmeriCares spokesman said. Products donated include antibiotics, analgesics, anti-bacterials and pediatric vitamins and infant formula. White House physician Burton Lee, a long-time AmeriCares volunteer, was among medical personnel accompanying the shipment. The 25 companies assisting in the AmeriCares effort include: Abbott; Astra Pharmaceuticals; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Copley Pharmaceuticals; Merck; McNeil; Pal Pac; Purdue Frederick; Stuart; and Upjohn. Many of these are expected to participate in the second shipment to Rumania, together with additional companies, the spokesman said. The second shipment also is expected to total about $1.4 in donations. AmeriCares also coordinated donations to Panama in late December.