Bristol-Myers Squibb funds Asian hepatitis initiatives

Bristol-Myers Squibb has provided funding to support a number of schemes dedicated to combating hepatitis B and C in China and India.

Via the independent charitable body the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, the company is providing four new grants worth nearly $1 million (616,285 pounds) to help improve understanding and care quality in underprivileged areas.

China's Wu Jieping Medical Foundation will use the contribution to conduct a study of the impact of hepatitis C in the country, which will be used to inform future health policy.

Meanwhile, in India the Health Oriented Programmes and Education scheme, the Hepatitis Foundation of Tripura and the United Way Mumbai initiative will all benefit from funding, allowing them to conduct awareness and vaccination campaigns.

John Damonti, president of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, said: "We look forward to improved hepatitis awareness, prevention and care in these countries' communities, as well as to applying our key learnings from these programmes in other countries."

Last month, Bristol-Myers Squibb published its financial results for the final quarter of 2010, reporting a two percent year-on-year increase in sales.