Merck Animal Health Partners with WeForest to Promote a Healthy Planet

Environmentally Friendly SPHEREON Technology Provides Opportunity
for Veterinarians to Give Back

MADISON, NJ, October 10, 2016 – Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside the US and Canada) today announced, as part of its commitment to a healthier planet, a new partnership with WeForest, an international nonprofit association engaged in large-scale sustainable reforestation. Through the partnership, Merck Animal Health will plant more than 8,000 trees this year in areas where they are most needed.

“We are proud to participate in WeForest’s mission to restore the planet’s natural resources by planting trees,” said Taylor Barbosa, Director, Global Poultry Marketing, Merck Animal Health. “Through this partnership and the use of novel technologies such as our SPHEREON®, Merck Animal Health is committed to helping to reduce the impact on the environment.”

SPHEREON is a novel vaccine formulation technology for the storage and preparation of live poultry vaccines. SPHEREON technology freeze-dries live vaccines to small, highly soluble particles (spheres) that dissolve quickly and completely in water, with no residue. SPHEREON allows for improved preparation and administration of the vaccine, as well as packaging in light-weight, 100 percent recyclable aluminum cups. The NOBILIS line of poultry vaccines were the first vaccines developed using SPHEREON technology.

“Merck Animal Health is committed to respecting our resources and our SPHEREON technology naturally fits this initiative,” said Barbosa. “With the help of poultry veterinarians and producers that use these products, we will continue to partner with WeForest in the years to come, planting even more trees.”

About Merck Animal Health
For 125 years, Merck has been a global health care leader working to help the world be well. Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to the Science of Healthier Animals™, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedInFacebook and Twitter at @MerckAH.

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 2015 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).