Merck announces continued commitment to global responsibility

Today Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, issued its 2011 global corporate responsibility report. The report reviews performance and activities within the four key corporate responsibility areas that the company has identified as mission critical: Access to Health, Environmental Stability, Employees and Ethics and Transparency. Some notable highlights from 2011, by the numbers:

• People reached through our major responsibility programs and partnerships: 273 million
• Healthcare workers trained: 51,600
• Investment in partnerships to address underlying barriers to health: $34.7 million
• Research & Development expenses: $8.5 billion
• Percent of the top 20 global disease burdens addressed by our products: 53 percent
• Reduction of global water use: 1 billion gallons
• Percentage of women in executive roles: 35 percent
• Estimated employee volunteer hours: 210,500
• Global Corporate Giving: $1.3 billion

Please join in our Twitter conversation at #BeWell to learn more.

Merck continues to use several external reporting guidelines including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI 3.1) Guidelines, the Millennium Development Goals, the Access to Medicine Index and the United Nations Global Compact Communication on Progress.

Merck for Mothers

Many new programs and initiatives were launched in 2011, including Merck for Mothers, a 10-year, half-billion-dollar initiative to create a world where no woman has to die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. This initiative aims to bring this issue to the forefront of global consciousness, develop new technologies and speed life-saving solutions to women across the globe. Go to: MerckforMothers.com to learn more.

To learn more about why innovation and corporate responsibility are at the core of our business strategy and activities, and to also learn about the new partnerships and programs launched in 2011, go to: merckresponsibility.com.