Merck Reports Strong Momentum in Expanding and Enabling Access to Health Care, Driving Sustainability and Operating Responsibly in 2023/2024 Impact Report
August 19, 2024 6:30 am ET
Reached more than 550 million people with its medicines and vaccines through commercial channels, clinical trials, voluntary licensing and product donations in 2023
Committed to be net-zero across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, aligned with guidance from the Science Based Targets initiative
Sourced 57% of its purchased electricity from renewable sources in 2023
Achieved greater than 99% parity in compensation between female and male employees, indicated via its 2023 global pay equity study of more than 65,000 employees
Through 2023, the company has reached more than 30 million women through Merck for Mothers
Merck increased its spend with small and diverse Tier 1 and 2 suppliers globally from $3.2 billion in 2022 to $3.6 billion in 2023
RAHWAY, N.J. – Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has published its 2023/2024 Impact Report, demonstrating strong progress in sustainability and reaffirming its commitment to enabling broad, equitable access to its medicines and vaccines.
“Expanding and enabling equitable access to our medicines and vaccines for the hundreds of millions of people around the world who depend on us is both a great responsibility and a profound privilege,” said Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “Driven by an unwavering sense of urgency and fueled by a relentless focus on leading-edge science, we will continue to deliver innovative solutions that address some of the world’s most serious global health challenges and deliver societal value.”
Merck continues to demonstrate an enduring dedication to advancing global health and extending access to solutions that address critical medical needs. In 2023, the company invested $30.5 billion in research and development (R&D), including expenditures related to certain business development transactions. The company is addressing 83% of the top 20 global burdens of disease through its pipeline and products.
Notable highlights across the company’s four sustainability focus areas include:
Access to Health
- In 2023, Merck reached more than 550 million people with its medicines and vaccines through commercial channels, clinical trials, voluntary licensing and product donations.
- The company reached approximately 385 million people through its MECTIZAN® Donation Program (MDP), the longest-running disease-specific drug donation program of its kind. MDP significantly contributes to the global effort to help eliminate river blindness and lymphatic filariasis.
- In 2023, Merck also enabled access to its innovative medicines and vaccines for 240 million people, making considerable progress toward its goal of enabling access for 350 million more people by 2025.
- Additionally, in 2023, Merck reached nearly 80% of countries globally with its products, surpassing its annual goal of reaching at least 75% of countries for the third consecutive year.
- Between 2021 – 2023, through social investments to improve health equity, Merck reached more than 54 million people in low- and middle-income countries and populations underserved by health care in high-income countries, including 21 million people last year alone.
- The company has now surpassed its 2025 goal of reaching 50 million people with its social investments.
- Through 2023, the company has reached more than 30 million women through Merck for Mothers.
Employees
- Women now comprise 51% of Merck’s global workforce and represent 50% of the company’s board of directors.
- In 2023, Merck achieved greater than 99% parity in compensation between female and male employees, indicated via its global pay equity study of more than 65,000 employees.
- In the U.S., the company achieved greater than 99% pay equity by race and gender for the third consecutive year.
- In 2023, Merck also defined and introduced 15 new enterprise leadership skills, designed to advance the company’s culture, power organizational and individual performance, and deliver impact for patients, customers and communities.
Environmental Sustainability
- In 2024, Merck reaffirmed its dedication to fighting climate change, committing to be net-zero across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, aligned with guidance from the Science Based Targets initiative.
- In 2023, Merck sourced 57% of its purchased electricity from renewable sources.
- The company has committed to sourcing 100% of its purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
Ethics & Values
- Merck increased its spend with small and diverse Tier 1 and 2 suppliers globally from $3.2 billion in 2022 to $3.6 billion in 2023.
In 2023, Merck also added sustainability metrics to its Company Scorecard, which directly affects the payout under its annual incentive plan. The metrics account for 10% of its Company Scorecard and link the compensation for most employees, including executives, to Merck’s performance in driving greater access to health and employee engagement and inclusion. Notably, Merck met all of the goals for these new sustainability metrics in its first year measuring progress against them on its Company Scorecard.
In addition, consistent with its sustainability financing framework, Merck has fully allocated $994 million of the net proceeds from its inaugural sustainability bond to social and green projects. The company issued the bond in 2021 to support its overall sustainability strategy and contribute to advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Learn more about Merck’s commitment to sustainability and its approach to creating value for society and all of its stakeholders in the company’s 2023/2024 Impact Report.
About Merck
At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, 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 candidates that the candidates 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
###
Media Contacts:
Robert Josephson
(203) 914-2372
Michael Levey
(215) 872-1462
Investor Contacts:
Peter Dannenbaum
(732) 594-1579
Alexis Constantine
(732) 594-1578
