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July 19, 2018 1:47 pm ET

Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, has
a long history of responsible pricing. In 2017, Merck issued its second
annual Pricing Action Transparency Report, which showed that net prices
across Merck’s U.S. product portfolio declined by 1.9 percent. We
believe that further changes are still necessary to help reduce patient
out-of-pocket costs. To demonstrate our commitment to achieving this
goal, we are making the following announcement:

• We commit to not increase the average net price across our portfolio
  of products by more than inflation annually.
• We are also lowering our price on ZEPATIER by 60 percent and several
  other medicines by 10 percent to reduce out-of-pocket costs for
  patients across the country. The Merck products selected were based on
  a range of factors including the gap between list price and actual
  discounted (net) prices paid in the market, the contractual
  obligations under existing arrangements with payers, and the
  opportunity to broaden access to treatment.
• Going forward, we will continue to evaluate our portfolio of products
  to look for opportunities to further reduce costs for patients and the
  health care system.

About Merck

For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical
company known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been
inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of
the world’s most challenging diseases. Through our prescription
medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies 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 health care through far-reaching policies, programs
and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of
research to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that
threaten people and communities around the world – including cancer,
cardio-metabolic diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease
and infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola. For more information,
visit
www.merck.com

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LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the
“company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs
and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to
significant risks and uncertainties. There can be no guarantees with
respect to pipeline products that the products will receive the
necessary regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be
commercially successful. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or
risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially
from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry
conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest
rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of
pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the
United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost
containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained
by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development,
including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to
accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties
or delays; financial instability of international economies and
sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents
and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company 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 the company’s 2017 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).

Merck
Pamela Eisele, 267-305-3558