OREANDA-NEWS. September 11, 2015. Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today issued its 2014 global corporate responsibility report, which provides an overview of its priorities, programs and performance in the areas of Access to Health, Environmental Sustainability, Employees and Ethics & Transparency.

With partners around the world, Merck is pursuing opportunities where the need is great and its resources and expertise can have the most impact. Highlights from the 2014 report include:

  • Developing breakthrough treatments and partnerships to combat Ebola, cancer, hepatitis C and other unmet medical needs
  • Expanding global access to more than 30 medicines to reach at-need communities
  • Improving the quality of maternal healthcare for millions of women through Merck for Mothers and its partners in more than 30 countries
  • Reducing water use by 20 percent since 2009, and emissions of greenhouse gases by 12 percent since 2012, helping to preserve and protect our environment
  • Pairing employees through our Merck Fellowship for Global Health with non-profit organizations for three-month, field-based, pro bono assignments that allow organizations to significantly expand their reach and capacity by leveraging employees’ business expertise
  • Receiving the Top Company for Employee Resource Groups award from DiversityInc for innovation in driving business performance through the Merck Employee Business Resource Groups

“Corporate responsibility is integral to the fabric of our company and reflected in every aspect of our business,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “Our mission to advance innovative solutions that improve and save lives is central to this long-standing commitment, which recognizes that our success is contingent upon the mutually reinforcing value that we create with our communities and society.”

Merck continues to use several external guidelines and measurement frameworks to inform the scope of its reporting, including the Global Reporting Initiative, the Millennium Development Goals, the Access to Medicine Index and the United Nations Global Compact.

Visit www.merckresponsibility.com for the comprehensive report.

Read the executive summary at www.merckcr.com.

About Merck

Today's Merck is a global health care 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 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. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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 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 2014 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).