Merck & Co., Inc. Receives Prestigious Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC) Award for its Efforts to Combat the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Botswana

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. and LONDON, May 22, 2006 - Tonight, at its 2006 Awards for Business Excellence Gala, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS will pay tribute to the role of business in the global fight against AIDS and honor Merck & Co., Inc. for its ongoing commitment to fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic on a national level in Botswana.

The GBC will honor six award recipients, including Merck, at a high-level Awards Gala in London.  Speakers at the Gala and Awards ceremony will include: British Prime Minister Tony Blair, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Sir Elton John and Graça Machel. CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour will serve as master of ceremonies.

"Botswana's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic stands as a beacon of hope to the global community, demonstrating that with political commitment, the right policies, effective partnerships, resource mobilization and broad community engagement, it is possible to begin to reverse the course of the epidemic," said Merck Chief Executive Officer and President Richard T. Clark. 

Merck is being presented with the GBC National Action Award for its efforts to combat the spread of AIDS in Botswana, a country where nearly 38 percent of the adult population is HIV positive.  In response to the massive threat HIV/AIDS posed to the very existence of Botswana's population, Merck, together with the Government of Botswana and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, launched the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP) in 2000.  Programs include:

• Supporting the Government of Botswana's antiretroviral treatment program, which, with more than 52,000 patients currently on treatment, is one of the largest such programs in Africa;
• Providing hands-on clinical training for more than 3,200 physicians and other health care professionals; 
• Support for projects such as distance education for teachers and students, a blood safety and youth prevention program, condom distribution efforts, behavior change interventions and small grants to community-based projects.
  

Largely due to the initiatives put in place and financially supported by Merck, Botswana is one of only three African countries to have exceeded the target of treating more than 50 percent of the HIV patients who require antiretroviral therapy.

"Merck is proud to be a partner in this effort, along with the Government of Botswana and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," Mr. Clark said.  "We are honored to receive this award, which recognizes the creativity, persistence, dedication and hard work of Mrs. Tsetsele Fantan, the ACHAP team and all of their partners in Botswana."

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.

About the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC)
The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC) is the pre-eminent organization mobilizing the resources of the business community in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  The rapidly-expanding alliance of 212 international companies is dedicated to combating the AIDS epidemic through the business sector's unique skills and expertise.  GBC's expert teams assist member companies in the design and development of specialized programs that leverage a company's assets and business skills to tailor an individual response to the crisis.  GBC is the official focal point of the private sector to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.  For more information, please visit the GBC website at www.businessfightsaids.org.

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 cautionary statements in Item 1 of Merck's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, and in its periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, which the Company incorporates by reference.

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