Mylan Laboratories will donate more than $10 million worth of antibiotics and other medical supplies to help tsunami victims in South Asia, the drug maker said Thursday.
In addition, Canonsburg-based Mylan plans to match dollar for dollar its employees' disaster-relief contributions to Save the Children, the American Red Cross and Brother's Brother Foundation.
Mylan's medicine is expected to be shipped before the end of the month, said Luke Hingson, president of Brother's Brother Foundation. The Manchester-based philanthropy is receiving and shipping donations to Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the hardest-hit nations.
"It is a wonderful life-saving and life-enhancing donation for the survivors of the tsunami," Hingson said. "This is the third confirmed product donation from Pittsburgh-based companies."
The foundation already has shipped respirators donated by Mine Safety Appliances Inc. in O'Hara. H.J. Heinz has discussed a food offering with Brother's Brother.
The first and biggest batch of Mylan drugs will be antibiotics, to help people ward off outbreaks of disease, said company spokeswoman Heather Bresch. Succeeding shipments will be maintenance medications, such as heart medicine, as many life-sustaining drug supplies were presumably destroyed.
"Meeting unmet needs has been a way of life at Mylan, and that applies to more than simply developing life-changing pharmaceuticals," said Chief Executive Robert Coury.
"It also means using our resources where possible to help those in need. In this case, the victims of the devastating tsunami in South Asia."
More than 2,000 people have sent contributions to Brother's Brother, "and we are still tallying the numbers," said Hingson. "I keep saying, 'thank you,' to the people of Pittsburgh because the response has been wonderful."
Hingson asked that contributors note on checks "tsunami" or "Asian relief," and send their donations to: Brothers' Brother Foundation, 1200 Galveston Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15233.
