We believe that the best way to address the concerns, risks and questions facing our business and to build a foundation of trust is to be more transparent about the way we operate. By doing this, we are confident that we will continue to succeed in our most fundamental responsibility — discovering and developing medicines and vaccines that make a difference in people's lives and create a healthier future.

That is why we disclose payment and grant information across our business in the following areas:

Grants to Medical, Scientific and Patient Organizations

We believe that providing support to third-party medical, scientific and patient organizations is an important way to advance our mutual objectives to improve health, advance patient care and encourage medical research. Starting in October 2008, Merck is reporting grants over $500 provided by the Company's Global Human Health division to U.S. organizations in support of independent accredited educational programs for health care professionals.

In 2009, Merck has expanded this disclosure to include other types of grants. We are beginning in the United States as this is where the largest amount of our support is directed. But it is our intent over time to disclose our support globally.

Merck will update these lists on a quarterly basis.

Grants made in the 2nd quarter 2009 in the U.S. ( PDF*)
Grants made in the 1st quarter 2009 in the U.S. ( PDF*)
Grants made in the 4th quarter 2008 in the U.S. ( PDF*)
Grants made in the 3rd quarter 2008 in the U.S. ( PDF*)

Philanthropic Grants

Starting in March 2009, Merck began reporting all philanthropic grants made through the Office of Corporate Philanthropy and The Merck Company Foundation. Information includes the name of the organization, program name/description, and the amount of the grant provided. Merck will update this list annually providing a full 2009 report in 1Q2010. For more information click here.

Payments to U.S.-based Health Care Professionals

We believe in broader disclosure of financial relationships between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. In 2008, Merck endorsed the Physicians Payment Sunshine Act, mandating disclosure of these financial relationships. Even in the absence of a legislative requirement, in October 2009, we began voluntarily disclosing all payments to U.S.-based health care professionals who speak on behalf of Merck or our products. For more information click here.

Corporate Political Contributions

To improve access to information about Merck's corporate political contributions in the United States, Merck annually posts the Company's contributions categorized by state, candidate and amount. Merck also discloses any contributions to committees known as 527 organizations. Beginning in 2009, we have expanded this list to include corporate contributions in Australia and Canada.

Merck's corporate political contributions for 2008 in the U.S. are listed here. (PDF*)
Merck's corporate political contributions for 2008 in Australia and Canada are listed here. (PDF*)

Merck Political Action Committee Contributions

Merck provides an opportunity for eligible employees to participate in the political process by joining a nonpartisan political action committee (PAC), which allows them to pool their financial resources to support federal and state candidates in the U.S. Except for administrative expenses, the Merck Employees Political Action Committee (Merck PAC) is completely comprised of funds voluntarily contributed by eligible Merck employees.

By following this link on the Federal Election Commission's website you may retrieve information about Merck PAC contributions.

Dues to Major U.S.-Based Trade Associations

In 2008, Merck began to disclose the portion of dues that major U.S.-based trade associations report to us as being used for advocacy and/or political activities where dues are >$50,000. For more information click here.

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.