Even in the most developed countries, not all people have access to the medicines, vaccines and quality health care they need.  Despite sophisticated approval, regulatory and distribution processes, access to medicines in developed countries can be hindered by lack of insurance coverage, bureaucratic reimbursement and pricing approval processes, and government policies that seek to cut costs but can often limit patient and physician choice.

The content on this page was last modified on September 15, 2009.

Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA, and Schering-Plough Corporation, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, are now one company. We have combined our global operations under the name Merck & Co., Inc. We are working to update our corporate responsibility Web site to reflect our new, combined, global organization.