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March 5, 2012 8:08 am ET

Company Receives EPA Honor for Seventh Consecutive Year

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, announced
today that it has received a 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its continued
improvement of energy performance and leadership in energy management in
both the pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.

Merck has been an ENERGY STAR partner since 1995 and recognized by the
EPA for seven consecutive years – twice as Partner of the Year and now a
fifth time for Sustained Excellence.

The 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award recognizes the
accomplishments of Merck’s energy management program, including Energy
Star designations earned for six manufacturing sites and three large
corporate office buildings including two at the Company’s headquarters
campus and one building with a major data center.

The ENERGY STAR efforts at the company’s sites are part of a broader
effort to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Merck
established an aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goal of 10 percent by
2015 from a 2009 baseline, reflecting the integration of the merger of
Schering-Plough and Merck in November 2009 into one business entity.

“Merck is proud to be the only pharmaceuticals company to be recognized
for the seventh time for these prestigious EPA awards,” said Rodney
Freeman, Merck’s vice president, Global Facilities Management. “We are
fully committed to use renewable energy resources, implement
energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies, materials
and products and report on our progress toward achieving our goals.”

“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ENERGY STAR program, EPA is
proud to recognize Merck with the 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence
Award,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Merck and all our
ENERGY STAR award winners are helping Americans find cost-effective ways
to save energy in everything we do, which is good for our climate, our
health, and our future.”

Three Merck manufacturing sites – Stonewall, Va., Wilson, N.C., and
Barceloneta, Puerto Rico – achieved the ENERGY STAR Challenge for
Industry for reducing energy use by more than 10 percent in the previous
three years. Three additional manufacturing sites – Cleveland, Tenn.,
Elkhorn, Neb., and Las Piedras, Puerto Rico – achieved an ENERGY STAR
award for ranking in the top 25 percent of pharmaceutical plant energy
performance nationwide. Merck’s corporate headquarters in Whitehouse
Station, N.J., also qualified for the ENERGY STAR label for the third
time and Merck’s research headquarters in Upper Gwynedd, Pa., for the
first time.

Merck will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on
March 15, 2012. Corporate responsibility is embedded within Merck’s
global business strategy to ensure improvement in the health and
well-being of society while also delivering value to the company’s
shareholders. Operating in an environmentally sustainable fashion is one
of four priority areas of corporate responsibility at Merck. For more
information about Merck’s ongoing environmental and energy conservation
efforts, please visit www.merckresponsibility.com.

About the Sustained Excellence

The 2012 Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a select group of
organizations that have exhibited outstanding leadership year after
year. The winners have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by setting and
achieving aggressive goals, employing innovative approaches and showing
others what can be achieved through energy efficiency. The awards
recognize ongoing leadership across the ENERGY STAR program including
energy-efficient products, services, new homes and building in the
commercial, industrial and public sectors. Award winners are selected
from organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.

About Merck

Today’s Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be
well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.
Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and
consumer care and animal health products, we work with customers and
operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health
solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to
healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For
more information, visit www.merck.com
and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statement

This news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may include,
but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the merger
between Merck and Schering-Plough, including future financial and
operating results, the combined company’s plans, objectives,
expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical
facts. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and
expectations of Merck’s management and are subject to significant risks
and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to
differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: the
possibility that the expected synergies from the merger of Merck and
Schering-Plough will not be realized, or will not be realized within the
expected time period; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation
and health care legislation; the risk that the businesses will not be
integrated successfully; disruption from the merger making it more
difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; Merck’s
ability to accurately predict future market conditions; dependence on
the effectiveness of Merck’s patents and other protections for
innovative products; the risk of new and changing regulation and health
policies in the United States and internationally and the exposure to
litigation and/or regulatory actions.

Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be
found in Merck’s 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at
the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).