Today Merck launched its 2008 global corporate responsibility (CR) report in which it emphasized that the fundamentals of good corporate governance and accountability, ethical business practices, and transparency have never been more important.

"In tough economic times, it is tempting for a company to retreat back to more parochial business concerns," said Richard T. Clark, Chairman, President and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc. "At Merck, however, we believe that good corporate citizenship and good governance have never been more important. Doing the right thing - even when times are tough - makes good business sense."

The report covers Merck's corporate responsibility activities, progress and performance during 2008 in five priority areas that the Company has identified as critical to its business. It includes 158 metrics - including three new metrics focused on the Company's anticounterfeiting efforts and sales & marketing performance. It also includes additional information related to the Company's activities in the first half of 2009.

Merck uses several external guidelines and measurement frameworks to inform the scope of its reporting, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI 3) Guidelines , the Millennium Development Goals, the Access to Medicines Index and, for the first time, the U.N. Global Compact, which the Company signed on to in January 2009.

Advancing Dialogue with Stakeholders

The theme of this year's report -- "Advancing the dialogue toward a healthier future" -- emphasizes Merck's ongoing commitment to engagement with stakeholders to ensure that its approach to corporate responsibility reflects both public expectations and its long-standing Company values. The theme is illustrated in the report through a series of dialogues with stakeholders and Merck senior management on the role of the pharmaceutical industry in society today.

"For this report, Merck devoted resources to dig deeper into which social, environmental and ethical issues were significant to the company and relevant to its stakeholders," said Elizabeth E. McGeveran, Senior Vice President, Governance & Sustainable Investment, F&C Management Ltd.

"That included sharing confidential information with stakeholders, taking time to listen to criticism and suggestions, and letting us know which issues they were ready to tackle. Merck understands that the days of 'feel good' CSR reports are over - and that companies need to work hard to identify emerging business risks and talk about issues for which there may not be easy answers. Having been consulted on the reporting process, F&C looks forward to reviewing the final version of the newest report and seeing if Merck's emerging markets strategy or the challenges facing patents are explored effectively."

Highlights from Merck's 2008 Report

Merck reported on progress in each of five priority corporate responsibility areas that it has identified as most important to its business. Highlights include:

1. Researching new medicines and vaccines to address unmet needs

• Advanced 31 candidates to the next clinical development stage, while continuing to invest nearly US$5 billion annually in research and development.
• Announced the creation of a new division - Merck BioVentures - to develop biosimilar products that will capitalize on the upcoming patent expirations of many currently marketed biologic therapeutics, and that are anticipated to offer great value and improved access to these classes of medicines.
• Entered into a collaborative agreement with DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative) to support discovery and development of improved treatments for neglected tropical diseases.

2. Improving access to medicines, vaccines and health care

• Continued to work with international groups to facilitate introduction of our human papillomavirus and rotavirus vaccines in the world's poorest countries.
• As of December 31, 2008, 653,867 patients -- 76 percent of whom reside in developing countries and 111,471 of whom are children -- were being treated with regimens containing at least one of Merck's antiretrovirals.
• Through 2008, the Merck U.S. Patient Assistance Program has provided 27 million free prescriptions and vaccines over the past seven years to patients in need in the United States.

3. Ensuring confidence in the safety and quality of our products

• Posted more than 290 Merck clinical trial results on www.ClinicalStudyResults.org, and submitted 235 manuscripts of clinical trial results and related papers to peer-reviewed journals.
• Established an Anti-counterfeiting Committee to oversee our strategy to combat the growing threat of counterfeit medicines worldwide.

4. Conducting ourselves ethically and transparently

• Implemented new Guiding Principles for Ethical Business Practices with the medical and scientific community.
• Established comprehensive, global guidelines for escalation, investigation, remediation and recognition of non-compliance events, and implemented them across our different divisions and regions. These guidelines will help ensure the appropriate disciplinary action is taken, up to and including dismissal, when necessary.

5. Managing our environmental footprint

• Announced corporate goal to reduce GHG emissions from the Company's global facilities and automobiles by 12 percent by the end of 2012, from the baseline year of 2004.
• Achieved and exceeded corporate goal to reduce energy demand by 25 percent from a 2004 baseline, and achieved and exceeded its water use goal of 15 percent reduction between 2004 and 2008.

In addition to the 64-page print report, additional information, case studies and metrics are available at www.merck.com/cr. An abbreviated executive summary with key highlights of the Company's CR activities and a key performance indicator brochure will also available on the website later this year. The Company encourages stakeholder feedback on the report at www.merck.com/cr. Merck plans to publish its next report in 2010.

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, 2008, 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.

¹http://www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/G3Guidelines/
²http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
³http://www.atmindex.org/
⁴http://www.unglobalcompact.org/

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.

More from Merck & Co., Inc.