WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. - December 18, 2008 "“ Merck & Co., Inc., has awarded more than U.S. $8 million in 2008 in grants to more than 200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations to support local efforts to combat HIV and AIDS in the United States and worldwide.

This year's funding will support a wide range of programs including an HIV awareness and prevention program in South Korea, a program designed to build capacity among NGOs working on HIV prevention and treatment advocacy in Mexico, and an initiative to establish and monitor HIV and AIDS workplace policies in small and medium enterprises in South Africa. In the United States, funding supported various HIV education and training programs for health professionals as well as community-based organizations HIV outreach and prevention programs.

One of the organizations that received Merck funding was the Text to Change (TTC) Foundation, which used the support to set up HIV and AIDS education programs via mobile telephones in Uganda. Merck also provided the TTC Foundation with technical advice, office space and access to its HIV and AIDS experts.

"By funding the TTC pilot, Merck has shown its vision on innovative programs to address HIV prevention and create an uptake in voluntary counseling and testing," said Hajo van Beijma, Director of the Text to Change Foundation. "Without this [support], our foundation wouldn’t be at the level it is today."

"As a global research-based pharmaceutical company, Merck believes it has an important role and responsibility to improve access to medicines, vaccines and quality health care worldwide," said Geralyn Ritter, Vice President, Global Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility at Merck.

"One way we do this is by promoting and participating in partnerships with governments, multilateral organizations, community-based organizations, other corporations and non-governmental organizations to help build health care capacity, expand delivery systems and address specific health and development challenges, particularly in the developing world. We are proud to support this year's grantees and are confident their efforts will make a positive difference in the lives of thousands of people around the world."

For more than 20 years, Merck has sought to make a difference in the fight against HIV and AIDS. We see our core role as discovering and developing innovative treatments for the disease. Since our HIV products first reached the market in 1996, we have worked to expand access to them, particularly for patients in countries that are the poorest and hardest hit by the pandemic. We strive to do this through long-term business strategies and models tailored to the individual needs of least developed countries, middle income markets, and the developed world. We also consider philanthropic activities that will support our business strategies. And we work through partnerships to help build health care capacity, expand delivery systems and address specific health and development challenges particularly in the developing world.

For more information, please visit www.merck.com/cr

Disclosure of Grant Information

Starting in early 2009, Merck plans to begin reporting on www.merck.com/cr all philanthropic grants made through The Merck Company Foundation and the Office of Contributions. Information provided on our website will include the name of the organization, program name/description, and the amount of the grant provided. Merck will update this list quarterly. It is our intent over time also to disclose our financial support to medical, scientific and patient organizations globally provided by Merck & Co., Inc.

In January 2009, Merck will begin reporting other grants/payments to U.S. organizations as well as grants made in Europe and Canada. We will continue to expand our disclosure into other regions as we work to build the infrastructure and systems necessary to allow us to report this information on a global basis.

About Merck

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. Established in 1891, Merck currently discovers, develops, manufactures and markets vaccines and medicines to address unmet medical needs. The Company devotes extensive efforts to increase access to medicines through far-reaching programs that not only donate Merck medicines but help deliver them to the people who need them. Merck also publishes unbiased health information as a not-for-profit service. For more information, visit www.merck.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding product development, product potential or financial performance. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect Merck's business, particularly those mentioned in the risk factors and cautionary statements in Item 1A of Merck's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, and in any risk factors or cautionary statements contained in the Company's periodic reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K, which the Company incorporates by reference.

Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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