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September 21, 2021 6:45 am ET

KENILWORTH, N.J., Sept. 21, 2021 – Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, affirmed its commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities as core to our company and a strong driver of sustainable value for our business and society. In our 2020/2021 ESG Progress Report, we describe our most recent advances toward achieving our ESG priority objectives, as well as our efforts to address the health and economic challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered and intensified.

We are proud of our work in ESG, which is grounded in and catalyzed by the core values that have guided our mission for more than 130 years: a focus on the health and wellness of people and animals, respect and commitment to our employees and their families, the highest standards of ethics and integrity, and scientific excellence in innovation. Every day, these values guide us as we work to bring hope and help to humanity and animals, through our discovery of important medicines and vaccines, our social responsibility, and the positive impact on health and health equity for all.

Sustaining our high level of ESG performance builds on our company’s legacy of creating long-term value for our business and the communities that surround us. It ensures we apply our global resources and investments to the areas that are most critical. We continue to challenge ourselves to innovate, make ambitious commitments, and engage collaborative partnerships to solve major global issues.

As part of our responsibility to patients, employees, customers, communities, shareholders, and the planet, we strive to:

• Sustain our long-term business success and investments in the discovery and development of innovative medicines and vaccines that address the most critical health care needs for people and animals around the world;
• Develop affordable and accessible product solutions that make the strongest contributions to health and health equity;
• Foster an inclusive workforce that is gender-balanced and embraces employees who reflect diversity in race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, culture, faith, prior military service, ability, and relevant experiences;
• Accelerate achievement of our climate goals and reduce our environmental impact on the health of people and the planet;
• Operate with the highest standards of ethics and integrity, holding ourselves accountable to those we serve through our transparent governance and reporting practices.

Our new ESG report outlines the steps we are taking to secure a better future for all.  From expanded patient access to essential therapies, to new Global Diversity & Inclusion goals that will accelerate our success in cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce, to our recent announcement to achieve carbon neutrality across our operations by 2025, and much more, we are ensuring the company continues to bring value to the world.

We encourage you to learn more about our 2020/2021 efforts and achievements and our broader commitments for the future – in the full ESG Report, available online at Merck.com.

About Merck

For over 130 years, Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases in pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate our commitment to patients and population health by increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and animals – including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases – as we aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline products that the products will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be commercially successful. 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 the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19); 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; the company’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 the company’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company 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 the company’s 2020 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).

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