What can we help you find?

June 4, 2020 7:00 am ET

KENILWORTH, N.J., June 4, 2020 – Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, reconfirms its commitment as a major supplier of HPV vaccines to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, helping the organization achieve its goal of vaccinating 84 million girls over the next Gavi strategic period of 2021-2025.

This company commitment comes as part of the Global Vaccine Summit whereby political leaders, civil society, donors, vaccine manufacturers and governments support the Vaccine Alliance through a five-year pledge. As a Gavi partner, Merck will continue to support meaningful contributions to immunization programs in low-income countries where the burden of disease is the highest. The long-term collaboration between Merck and Gavi continues to be well aligned and is consistent with Merck’s vision to make a difference in the lives of people globally.

Beyond the renewal of the long-term supply commitment, Merck will also partner with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers’ Foundation (IFPW), which has an ongoing partnership with Gavi. As part of this collaboration, Merck will provide funding of $500,000 over the five-year strategic period (2021-2025) to support activities in three critical areas: executive training programs and mentorships, optimization of supply chain networks and deployment of new technologies to address broad challenges in vaccines delivery. Through these Gavi and IFPW initiatives, Merck will provide critical support to Gavi’s accelerator program, Innovation for Uptake, Scale and Equity in Immunization (INFUSE), which helps countries accelerate the introduction of cutting-edge technology to improve vaccine delivery systems. In addition, these partnerships will leverage the expertise of Merck personnel, including some of the industry’s brightest researchers, engineers and logistical experts.

“Merck remains committed to the vision of Gavi, to fulfilling the aspiration of the Vaccine Alliance over the next five-year strategic period and to executing on the IFPW partnership. Together, these collective achievements will help improve lives, advance public health and create stronger vaccine delivery systems in some of the world’s poorest countries,” said John Markels, president, Merck Vaccines. “The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of vaccination now more than ever. The current decline in vaccination rates overall is creating a risk of resurgence in many vaccine-preventable diseases. With Merck’s strong legacy and leadership in vaccines, our company is honored to partner with Gavi and other organizations committed to global health, to support efforts to increase vaccination rates around the world.”

About Merck

For more than 125 years, Merck, 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 in pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate our commitment to patients and population health by increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and animals – including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases – as we aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., 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. 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 the recent global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19); 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 2019 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).

Media Contacts
Pamela Eisele
(267) 305-3558

Angela Palmieri
(267) 305-3503

Investor Contacts:
Peter Dannenbaum
(908) 740-1037

Michael DeCarbo
(908) 740-1807