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March 24, 2015 5:00 pm ET

Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada,
today announced that its board of directors has authorized additional
purchases of up to $10 billion of Merck’s common stock for its treasury.
The treasury stock purchase has no time limit and will be made over time
in open-market transactions, block transactions on or off an exchange,
or in privately negotiated transactions.

“The combination of this share repurchase program and our strong
dividend reflects our ongoing commitment to returning cash and
delivering value to shareholders,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and
chief executive officer, Merck. “Today’s action reiterates our
confidence in the company’s long-term business strategy and future
prospects.”

With today’s announcement, the company’s total outstanding share
repurchase authorization is now approximately $11.7 billion, which
includes approximately $1.7 billion in authorized repurchases remaining
under the program previously announced on May
1, 2013.

Merck continues to expect average diluted shares outstanding will be
approximately 2.86 billion in 2015.

About Merck

Today’s Merck is a global health care leader working to help the world
be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.
Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and
animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than
140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also
demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through
far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information,
visit www.merck.com
and connect with us on Twitter,
Facebook
and YouTube.

Merck Forward-Looking Statement

This news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based
upon the current beliefs and expectations of Merck’s management and are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying
assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize,
actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry
conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest
rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of
pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the
United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost
containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained
by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development,
including obtaining regulatory approval; Merck’s ability to accurately
predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays;
financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk;
dependence on the effectiveness of Merck’s patents and other protections
for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including
patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be
found in Merck’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at
the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).

Merck
Media:
Lainie Keller, 908-236-5036
or Steve Cragle, 908-740-1801
or
Investor:
Joseph Romanelli, 908-740-1986
or Justin Holko, 908-740-1879