In June – July 2008, Merck spoke with more than 20 external stakeholders representing a variety of constituencies. In one-on-one discussions we talked about our planned approach to reporting, Merck's CR materiality assessment process and the broad material headings we had identified. We also shared with them a draft outline of our CR report, and our ideas and concepts for key performance indictors, metrics and targets.

Our goal in these discussions was to listen to our stakeholders' perspectives and recommendations. We have reflected their comments where feasible and appropriate in our website and CR report. We will use the insights gained through these and ongoing discussions with our stakeholders to inform future reporting. Beginning with our next report, we anticipate establishing a more formal, ongoing stakeholder engagement mechanism with our reporting process.

Recommendation	Merck Included in the CR Report or Website
Include details of how Merck engages with stakeholders in general, and also in regard to the materiality assessment and reporting process.	Engaging With Our Stakeholders
Provide information on how Merck involves employees in the materiality assessment process	In future reports, we will work to involve more fully our employee input into our CR reporting process
With regard to researching new products, provide information on how Merck products address unmet needs and our approach to neglected tropical diseases	Researching New Medicines and Vaccines to Address Unmet Needs
Provide Merck's position on biosafety and bioprospecting	Non-Clinical Research
Provide more details on Merck's monitoring of clinical trials, including the number of audits of clinical research organizations, actions taken and terminations of partners	Clinical Research on Safety and Efficacy
In relation to access to medicines, disclose the registration status of those medicines for which we disclose pricing and access strategies	Improving Access to Medicines, Vaccines and Health Care
Provide information on which countries fall within which pricing levels for HIV medicines	Improving Access to HIV and AIDS Treatment and Care
Discuss Merck's access strategy in developing and middle income markets beyond HIV products and vaccines	We recognize the importance of ensuring access to all of our products to reach more people. We intend to expand our presence in emerging markets and are exploring business models for all our products to reach new populations. We will report on developments in future reports.
Provide Merck's perspective and role in the right to health	Health as a Human Right: What is Merck's Role?
With regard to our advocacy approach, recommended disclosure threshold of $50,000 vs $100,000 for lobbying dues to trade associations used for advocacy and/or political activities	Based on this feedback, we lowered our threshold to $50,000