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August 10, 2023 9:18 am ET

• Reached more than 500 million people with its innovations across commercial channels, clinical trials, access strategies, voluntary licensing and its donations in 2022
• Expanded two of its Access to Health goals
• Added sustainability metrics tied to its Access to Health and Employees focus areas in its 2023 Company Scorecard, which impacts annual incentive pay for executives and the majority of global employees
• Committed to Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to set net-zero target for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across global operations (Scopes 1, 2 and 3)
• Allocated $760 million of the net proceeds from its $1 billion sustainability bond to social and green projects, in alignment with its sustainability financing framework, through June 2022

RAHWAY, N.J. – Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has published its Impact Report 2022/2023, outlining sustained momentum and strong performance across the company’s four sustainability areas: Access to Health, Employees, Environmental Sustainability and Ethics & Values.

“The positive impact we continue to have on patients, communities and society is a direct result of our commitment to innovation and the principles and values that shape our company,” said Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “At our core, we believe in operating responsibly, putting patients first and raising the bar on scientific excellence. This unwavering commitment enables us to deliver value to all our stakeholders as we work with speed and urgency to save and improve lives around the world.”

Importantly, Merck has exceeded and expanded two of its Access to Health goals:

• Two years ago, Merck set a goal to enable 100 million more people to access its innovative portfolio¹ globally, through access strategies, solutions and partnerships, by 2025. The company exceeded this goal already in 2022. As a result, the company increased its ambition and more than tripled the original goal. Merck now aims to enable 350 million more people to access its innovative portfolio by 2025.
• Through 2022, Merck reached more than 33 million people in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and underserved populations in the U.S. with its social investments, exceeding its goal to reach more than 30 million people by 2025. The company’s expanded goal is to reach over 50 million people in LMICs, underserved populations in the U.S. and, going forward, underserved populations in other high-income countries, by 2025.

Additional key highlights from this year’s report include:

Access to Health

• In 2022, Merck reached more than 500 million people with its innovations across commercial channels, clinical trials, access strategies, voluntary licensing and its donations.
  • This includes nearly 360 million people reached through the MECTIZAN® Donation Program to treat river blindness and lymphatic filariasis².
• In 2022, the company invested $38 million to advance health equity and initiatives, including Merck for Mothers, in support of its goal to reach over 30 million people with its social investments.
• Through 2022, Merck’s multi-faceted strategy to facilitate timely and equitable access to its investigational antiviral COVID-19 medicine has led to the delivery of more than 5 million courses of generic COVID-19 therapy to over 20 LMICs.
  • In addition, the company’s direct supply has treated more than 4 million patients worldwide through 2022.
• Through a long-term agreement with UNICEF from 2021–2025, Merck has committed to provide more than 100 million doses of its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for use in Gavi-supported countries.

Employees

• Merck achieved greater than 99 percent pay equity in the U.S. for female and male employees, as well as for non-white (including Black, Hispanic and Asian employees) and white employees.
• In 2022, 47 percent of the company’s new hires in the U.S. were members of underrepresented ethnic groups.

Environmental Sustainability

• The company committed to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to set a net-zero target for GHG emissions across its global operations (Scopes 1, 2 and 3).
• In 2022, the company sourced 45 percent of its purchased electricity from renewable sources.

Ethics & Values

• The company increased its spend with diverse Tier 1 and 2 suppliers globally from $2.9 billion in 2021 to $3.2 billion in 2022.

The company is utilizing the net proceeds from the sustainability bond offering to support projects and partnerships in its priority sustainability areas and to contribute to the advancement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Through June 2022 (the most recent reporting period for the bond), Merck has allocated $760 million of the net proceeds toward social and green projects, in alignment with its sustainability financing framework. 

Merck also added sustainability metrics tied to its Access to Health and Employees focus areas in its 2023 Company Scorecard, which impacts annual incentive pay for executives and the majority of global employees.

Learn more about Merck’s approach to sustainability, the company’s commitment to creating value for society and all its stakeholders, and its progress on key goals in Merck’s Impact Report 2022/2023.

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 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 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).

¹ “Innovative portfolio” of products refers to our Company’s on-patent products.

² Countries receiving donated Mectizan are located in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America, and the Western Pacific

Media Contact:
mediarelations@merck.com

Investor Contact:
Peter Dannenbaum – (732) 594-1579

Steve Graziano – (732) 594-1583

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