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April 19, 2016 4:00 pm ET

Non-Invasive Device Helps Diagnose Bovine Respiratory Disease

Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside the United
States and Canada) today announced plans to acquire worldwide rights for
the Whisper^® Veterinary Stethoscope System from
Minnesota-based Geissler Companies. The Whisper Veterinary Stethoscope
System is a Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) detection system which is
used to determine the severity of an animal’s lung condition so that the
appropriate treatment regimen can be started to protect the health of
the animal.

Bovine Respiratory Disease is the most common disease affecting cattle
in North America.¹ This complex, multi-factorial infection
affects the upper and lower respiratory tracts and can often be fatal,
causing billions of dollars in economic losses for farmers. Identifying
the cause of the disease and appropriate treatment pathways is vital to
maintain an infected herd.

“We are pleased to add the Whisper Veterinary Stethoscope System to our
comprehensive portfolio of vaccines and pharmaceutical products for the
cattle industry,” said Rick DeLuca, president, Merck Animal Health. “It
is important to provide our customers with the most innovative solutions
available today that will meet their needs to maintain healthy stock and
advance animal well-being.”

“We are excited about Merck Animal Health acquiring this technology,”
said Randolph K. Geissler, CEO, Geissler Companies. “We believe Merck
Animal Health’s wide commercial reach and expertise in Bovine
Respiratory Disease will help bring the Whisper Veterinary Stethoscope
System to more producers, and will result in improvements to animal
health and well-being.”

The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About the Whisper^® Veterinary Stethoscope
System

The Whisper Veterinary Stethoscope System is a Bovine Respiratory
Disease (BRD) detection system which incorporates an electronic
stethoscope to capture a lung sound, then utilizes computer-aided
proprietary analytics to evaluate the severity of the animal’s lung
condition so that the appropriate treatment regimen can be started.

Whisper is placed over the lungs of sick cattle and captures sound
frequencies, determining the condition of the lungs and sending an
objective score to a nearby computer. Using the Whisper score, producers
can detect BRD early, determine the severity of the disease and select
an appropriate treatment regimen, which may help them improve
lung-health related outcomes.

About Merck Animal Health

For 125 years, Merck (NYSE:MRK) has been a global health care leader
working to help the world be well. Merck Animal Health, known as MSD
Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, is the global animal
health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to the Science of
Healthier Animals™, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers,
pet owners and governments one of the widest range of veterinary
pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services.
Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health,
well-being and performance of animals. It invests extensively in dynamic
and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck
Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products
are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or
connect with us on LinkedIn
and Twitter at @MerckAH.

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
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 2015 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).

¹ D. Griffin: Economic impact associated with
respiratory disease in beef cattle. In: The Veterinary
clinics of North America. Food animal practice. Band 13, Number 3,
November 1997, ISSN 0749-0720,
S. 367–377, PMID
9368983.

Merck Animal Health
Amy Firsching, 973-937-5453