<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xml:base="http://www.fiercebiotech.com" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
<channel>
 <title>Merck related Press Releases</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/tagged/136</link>
 <description></description>
 <language>en</language>
<item>
 <title>Merck to Present at the Leerink Swann 2012 Global Healthcare       Conference</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/merck-present-leerink-swann-2012-global-healthcare-conference?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J.--(&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.businesswire.com&quot;&gt;BUSINESS WIRE&lt;/a&gt;)-- Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that Peter N. Kellogg, Merck&#039;s chief financial officer is scheduled to present at the Leerink Swann 2012 Global Healthcare Conference in New York City on Feb. 15, at 11:00 a.m. EST. Investors, analysts, members of the media and the general public are invited to listen to a live audio webcast of the presentation at: &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Finvestors%2Fevents-and-presentations%2Fhome.html&amp;amp;esheet=50166915&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Finvestors%2Fevents-and-presentations%2Fhome.html&amp;amp;index=1&amp;amp;md5=57c15a6092cabe291447ae7351aedbc8&quot;&gt;http://www.merck.com/investors/events-and-presentations/home.html&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;About Merck&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today&#039;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 &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com&amp;amp;esheet=50166915&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.merck.com&amp;amp;index=2&amp;amp;md5=1cb07ccbb19c093e80b07aa791d7fb67&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;bwuline&quot;&gt;www.merck.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Forward-Looking Statement&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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 U.S. and internationally and the exposure to litigation and/or regulatory actions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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 (&lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov&amp;amp;esheet=50166915&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.sec.gov&amp;amp;index=3&amp;amp;md5=44aa8aab19362f26971b20f756dc885b&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;bwuline&quot;&gt;www.sec.gov&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&amp;amp;sty=20120214005824r1&amp;amp;sid=32937&amp;amp;distro=ftp&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONTACT:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Merck&lt;br /&gt;
Media:&lt;br /&gt;
Ron Rogers, 908-423-6449&lt;br /&gt;
Investor:&lt;br /&gt;
Carol Ferguson, 908-423-4465&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; United States&amp;nbsp; North America&amp;nbsp; New Jersey&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; Health&amp;nbsp; Biotechnology&amp;nbsp; Pharmaceutical&amp;nbsp; Other Health&amp;nbsp; General Health&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;MEDIA:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Logo&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=107455&amp;amp;vid=2&quot; alt=&quot; Logo &quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:21:13 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">313266 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Merck Announces Top-Line Results of TRA-2P Study of Vorapaxar</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/merck-announces-top-line-results-tra-2p-study-vorapaxar-0?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Merck Announces Top-Line Results of TRA-2P Study of Vorapaxar&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Company Will Review Data FromTRA-2P and TRACER With External Experts to Inform Next Steps&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., Feb 07, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Merck, known outside the United States and Canada as MSD, today announced the top-line results of the TRA-2P (Thrombin Receptor Antagonist in Secondary Prevention of atherothrombotic ischemic events) study of vorapaxar. Merck is developing vorapaxar, an investigational oral Protease Activated Receptor 1 (PAR-1) thrombin receptor antagonist, for the prevention of thrombosis, or clot formation, and the reduction of cardiovascular events.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;TRA-2P showed that the addition of vorapaxar to standard of care significantly reduced the risk of the protocol-specified primary endpoint of the composite of cardiovascular death (CVD), heart attack (myocardial infarction, or MI), stroke or urgent coronary revascularization compared to standard of care. There was a significant increase in bleeding, including intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), among patients taking vorapaxar in addition to standard of care, although there was a lower risk of ICH in patients without a history of stroke.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The full results of TRA-2P will be presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in March.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;In developing vorapaxar, Merck and our scientific collaborators set a very high bar -- would the addition of vorapaxar to standard of care provide incremental benefit in preventing clots?&quot; said Peter S. Kim, president, Merck Research Laboratories. &quot;We are pleased that TRA-2P met its primary endpoint, and we look forward to discussing the results with the scientific community.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Merck will review the data from both TRA2-P and TRACER with the investigators and other outside experts to help better understand the profile of this investigational medicine in specific patient populations and to determine next steps, including potential regulatory filings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Vorapaxar has been evaluated in two major clinical outcomes studies: TRA-2P TIMI 50 (clinicaltrials.gov identifier:NCT00526474) was led by the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Study Group of Brigham and Women&#039;s Hospital. TRA-2P was a secondary prevention study in 26,449 patients with a heart attack, an ischemic stroke, or documented peripheral vascular disease. TRACER (Thrombin Receptor Antagonist for Clinical Event Reduction in Acute Coronary Syndrome), (clinicaltrials.gov identifier:NCT00527943) was an acute care, hospital-based study of approximately 12,944 patients with non-ST-segment-elevation acute coronary syndrome. The study was led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute, and results were presented in 2011 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and published in the January 5, 2012 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (Vol. 366, No. 1). The news release can be found at http://www.merck.com/newsroom/news-release-archive/research-and-development/2011_1113.html .&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;About Merck&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today&#039;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Forward-Looking Statement&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This news release includes &quot;forward-looking statements&quot; 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&#039;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&#039;s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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&#039;s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; dependence on the effectiveness of Merck&#039;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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&#039;s 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company&#039;s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC&#039;s Internet site ( www.sec.gov ).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;SOURCE: Merck&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Merck &lt;br /&gt; Media: &lt;br /&gt; Pam Eisele, 908-423-5042 &lt;br /&gt; Skip Irvine, 267-305-5397 &lt;br /&gt; or &lt;br /&gt; Investors: &lt;br /&gt; Carol Ferguson, 908-423-4465&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:38:11 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Jennifer Levin</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">307457 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Merck Announces Top-Line Results of TRA-2P Study of Vorapaxar</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/merck-announces-top-line-results-tra-2p-study-vorapaxar?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; class=&quot;bwalignc&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Company Will Review Data FromTRA-2P and TRACER With External Experts to Inform Next Steps&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J.--(&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.businesswire.com&quot;&gt;BUSINESS WIRE&lt;/a&gt;)-- Merck (NYSE:MRK), known outside the United States and Canada as MSD, today announced the top-line results of the TRA-2P (&lt;b&gt;T&lt;/b&gt;hrombin &lt;b&gt;R&lt;/b&gt;eceptor &lt;b&gt;A&lt;/b&gt;ntagonist in &lt;b&gt;S&lt;/b&gt;econdary &lt;b&gt;P&lt;/b&gt;revention of atherothrombotic ischemic events) study of vorapaxar. Merck is developing vorapaxar, an investigational oral Protease Activated Receptor 1 (PAR-1) thrombin receptor antagonist, for the prevention of thrombosis, or clot formation, and the reduction of cardiovascular events.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;TRA-2P showed that the addition of vorapaxar to standard of care significantly reduced the risk of the protocol-specified primary endpoint of the composite of cardiovascular death (CVD), heart attack (myocardial infarction, or MI), stroke or urgent coronary revascularization compared to standard of care. There was a significant increase in bleeding, including intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), among patients taking vorapaxar in addition to standard of care, although there was a lower risk of ICH in patients without a history of stroke.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The full results of TRA-2P will be presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in March.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;In developing vorapaxar, Merck and our scientific collaborators set a very high bar – would the addition of vorapaxar to standard of care provide incremental benefit in preventing clots?&quot; said Peter S. Kim, president, Merck Research Laboratories. &quot;We are pleased that TRA-2P met its primary endpoint, and we look forward to discussing the results with the scientific community.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Merck will review the data from both TRA2-P and TRACER with the investigators and other outside experts to help better understand the profile of this investigational medicine in specific patient populations and to determine next steps, including potential regulatory filings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Vorapaxar has been evaluated in two major clinical outcomes studies: TRA-2P TIMI 50 (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clinicaltrials.gov%2Fct2%2Fshow%2FNCT00526474%3Fterm%3DTRA2-P%2BTIMI%2B50%26rank%3D1&amp;amp;esheet=50159798&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=NCT00526474&amp;amp;index=1&amp;amp;md5=ba18cacd14711773f4049566d2abdd16&quot;&gt;NCT00526474&lt;/a&gt; ) was led by the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Study Group of Brigham and Women&#039;s Hospital. TRA-2P was a secondary prevention study in 26,449 patients with a heart attack, an ischemic stroke, or documented peripheral vascular disease. TRACER (&lt;b&gt;T&lt;/b&gt;hrombin &lt;b&gt;R&lt;/b&gt;eceptor &lt;b&gt;A&lt;/b&gt;ntagonist for &lt;b&gt;C&lt;/b&gt;linical &lt;b&gt;E&lt;/b&gt;vent &lt;b&gt;R&lt;/b&gt;eduction in Acute Coronary Syndrome), (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicaltrials.gov%2Fct2%2Fshow%2FNCT00527943&amp;amp;esheet=50159798&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=NCT00527943&amp;amp;index=2&amp;amp;md5=c8a30d1fa3f6ce9c5f536cbccb7d06ca&quot;&gt;NCT00527943&lt;/a&gt;) was an acute care, hospital-based study of approximately 12,944 patients with non-ST-segment-elevation acute coronary syndrome. The study was led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute, and results were presented in 2011 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and published in the January 5, 2012 issue of &lt;i&gt;The&lt;/i&gt; &lt;i&gt;New England Journal of Medicine&lt;/i&gt; (Vol. 366, No. 1). The news release can be found at &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Fnewsroom%2Fnews-release-archive%2Fresearch-and-development%2F2011_1113.html&amp;amp;esheet=50159798&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Fnewsroom%2Fnews-release-archive%2Fresearch-and-development%2F2011_1113.html&amp;amp;index=3&amp;amp;md5=c16df43479f69e9a5ba307e605ac6d86&quot;&gt;http://www.merck.com/newsroom/news-release-archive/research-and-development/2011_1113.html&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;About Merck&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today&#039;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 &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com&amp;amp;esheet=50159798&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.merck.com&amp;amp;index=4&amp;amp;md5=b275d0b4921da8aa0e3553a66b3c1a95&quot;&gt;www.merck.com&lt;/a&gt; and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Forward-Looking Statement&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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 (&lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov&amp;amp;esheet=50159798&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.sec.gov&amp;amp;index=5&amp;amp;md5=86af3281ab9372b52e8fcdd153fc7e07&quot;&gt;www.sec.gov&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&amp;amp;sty=20120207006101r1&amp;amp;sid=32937&amp;amp;distro=ftp&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONTACT:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Merck&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;Media:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Pam Eisele, 908-423-5042&lt;br /&gt;
Skip Irvine, 267-305-5397&lt;br /&gt;
or&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;Investors:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Carol Ferguson, 908-423-4465&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; United States&amp;nbsp; North America&amp;nbsp; New Jersey&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; Health&amp;nbsp; Biotechnology&amp;nbsp; Cardiology&amp;nbsp; Clinical Trials&amp;nbsp; Pharmaceutical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;MEDIA:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Logo&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=107455&amp;amp;vid=2&quot; alt=&quot; Logo &quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:21:20 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">307440 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Merck Provides Update on Development Program for Suvorexant, an Investigational Orexin Receptor Antagonist for the Treatment of </title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/merck-provides-update-development-program-suvorexant-investigational-orexin-0?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;Merck Provides Update on Development Program for Suvorexant, an Investigational Orexin Receptor Antagonist for the Treatment of Insomnia&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Company Confirms Plans to File NDA for Suvorexant in 2012&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., Feb. 6, 2012 -- Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today provided an update on the development program for suvorexant, the company&#039;s investigational orexin receptor antagonist, which, if approved, will be a new mechanism for the treatment of insomnia. The two pivotal Phase III efficacy trials for suvorexant have been completed and, based on the positive results of these studies, Merck plans to file a New Drug Application (NDA) for suvorexant with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Both Phase III studies were multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials that evaluated suvorexant compared to placebo in adult patients ages 18 years and older. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in subjective total sleep time and time to sleep onset, wake time after persistent sleep onset, and latency to onset of persistent sleep at one and three months. Merck plans to submit these data for presentation at major medical meetings later this year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Suvorexant is one of the five major U.S. filings Merck anticipates for 2012 and 2013.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Suvorexant selectively targets an important pathway involved in helping to promote sleep and, if approved, will be a new, first-in-class treatment for patients with insomnia,&quot; said Peter S. Kim, president, Merck Research Laboratories. &quot;We are enthusiastic about the potential of this investigational medicine, and look forward to sharing the results from these studies with the medical community.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;About Merck&lt;br /&gt;Today&#039;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Forward-Looking Statement&lt;br /&gt;This news release includes &quot;forward-looking statements&quot; 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&#039;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&#039;s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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&#039;s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; dependence on the effectiveness of Merck&#039;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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&#039;s 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company&#039;s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC&#039;s Internet site (www.sec.gov).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:40:39 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Jennifer Levin</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">306662 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Merck Provides Update on Development Program for Suvorexant, an       Investigational Orexin Receptor Antagonist for the Treatme</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/merck-provides-update-development-program-suvorexant-investigational-orexin?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; class=&quot;bwalignc&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Company Confirms Plans to File NDA for Suvorexant in 2012&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J.--(&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.businesswire.com&quot;&gt;BUSINESS WIRE&lt;/a&gt;)-- Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today provided an update on the development program for suvorexant, the company&#039;s investigational orexin receptor antagonist, which, if approved, will be a new mechanism for the treatment of insomnia. The two pivotal Phase III efficacy trials for suvorexant have been completed and, based on the positive results of these studies, Merck plans to file a New Drug Application (NDA) for suvorexant with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)&amp;nbsp;in 2012.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Both Phase III studies were multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials that evaluated suvorexant compared to placebo in adult patients ages 18 years and older. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in subjective total sleep time and time to sleep onset, wake time after persistent sleep onset, and latency to onset of persistent sleep at one and three months. Merck plans to submit these data for presentation at major medical meetings&amp;nbsp;later this year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Suvorexant is one of the five major U.S. filings Merck anticipates for 2012 and 2013.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Suvorexant selectively targets an important pathway involved in helping to promote sleep and, if approved, will be a new, first-in-class treatment for patients with insomnia,&quot; said Peter S. Kim, president, Merck Research Laboratories. &quot;We are enthusiastic about the potential of this investigational medicine, and look forward to sharing the results from these studies with the medical community.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;About Merck&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today&#039;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 &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com&amp;amp;esheet=50157842&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.merck.com&amp;amp;index=1&amp;amp;md5=bd1598454d3240473ed141d8e8be11bd&quot;&gt;www.merck.com&lt;/a&gt; and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Forward-Looking Statement&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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 (&lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov&amp;amp;esheet=50157842&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.sec.gov&amp;amp;index=2&amp;amp;md5=b2d8cbb5906d742aa781d6165ba0622f&quot;&gt;www.sec.gov&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&amp;amp;sty=20120206005696r1&amp;amp;sid=32937&amp;amp;distro=ftp&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONTACT:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Merck&lt;br /&gt;
Media Contacts:&lt;br /&gt;
Pam Eisele, 908-423-5042&lt;br /&gt;
Lesley Brown, 267-305-3545&lt;br /&gt;
or&lt;br /&gt;
Investor Contact:&lt;br /&gt;
Carol Ferguson, 908-423-4465&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; United States&amp;nbsp; North America&amp;nbsp; New Jersey&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; Health&amp;nbsp; Biotechnology&amp;nbsp; Pharmaceutical&amp;nbsp; FDA&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;MEDIA:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Logo&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=107455&amp;amp;vid=2&quot; alt=&quot; Logo &quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/insomnia">insomnia</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:21:15 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">306551 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Life Technologies Names Alan Sachs as Head of Global Research and Development</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/life-technologies-names-alan-sachs-head-global-research-and-development?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;h2&gt;A molecular biologist and Merck veteran, Sachs will drive technology strategy and product innovation&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;xn-location&quot;&gt;CARLSBAD, Calif.&lt;/span&gt;, &lt;span class=&quot;xn-chron&quot;&gt;Jan. 31, 2012&lt;/span&gt; /PRNewswire/ --&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lifetech.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Life Technologies Corporation&lt;/a&gt; (NASDAQ: LIFE) today announced that &lt;span class=&quot;xn-person&quot;&gt;Alan B. Sachs&lt;/span&gt;, M.D., Ph.D., former Vice President, Exploratory and Translational Sciences for Merck Research Laboratories, has joined the company as Head of Global Research and Development. Sachs brings more than 20 years of experience as a research scientist and a leader in developing innovative scientific platforms.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sachs will play a key role in driving technology strategy and further shaping Life Technologies&#039; culture of high-performance R&amp;amp;D and product innovation. He will also lead the company&#039;s Global Science and Innovation Office and serve as the principal liaison to the external scientific community.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Alan brings strong leadership qualities in research and development that&#039;s grounded in a deep understanding of biology – attributes that will be paramount to drive our efforts in developing innovative products for our customers,&quot; said &lt;span class=&quot;xn-person&quot;&gt;Mark Stevenson&lt;/span&gt;, President and Chief Operating Officer at Life Technologies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A former Associate Professor in the Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at &lt;span class=&quot;xn-org&quot;&gt;University of California, Berkeley&lt;/span&gt;, and Whitehead fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Sachs has published more than 70 papers in scientific journals. After a nine-year career in academia, he spent 10 years in leadership roles at Merck Research Laboratories, where he oversaw projects that included all aspects of molecular profiling, the development of RNA therapeutics, biomarker discovery for the pre-clinical and clinical markets, and human disease modeling.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sachs received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from &lt;span class=&quot;xn-org&quot;&gt;Stanford University&lt;/span&gt; in 1987, his M.D. from the Stanford School of Medicine in 1989, and his B.A. in Biochemistry from &lt;span class=&quot;xn-org&quot;&gt;Cornell University&lt;/span&gt; in 1982.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Life Technologies has a strong legacy of being on the leading edge of technology that&#039;s designed to help researchers around the world move science forward,&quot; Sachs said. &quot;I&#039;m looking forward to being a part of that legacy and contributing new strategies to advance it even further.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;About Life Technologies&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lifetech.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Life Technologies Corporation&lt;/a&gt; is a global biotechnology company dedicated to improving the human condition. Our systems, consumables and services enable researchers to accelerate scientific and medical advancements that make life even better. Life Technologies customers do their work across the biological spectrum, working to advance the fields of discovery and translational research, molecular medicine, stem cell-based therapies, food safety and animal health, and 21st century forensics. The company manufactures both molecular diagnostic and research use only products. Life Technologies&#039; industry-leading brands are found in nearly every life sciences lab in the world and include innovative instrument systems under the Applied Biosystems and Ion Torrent names, as well as, the broadest range of reagents with its Invitrogen, GIBCO, Ambion, Molecular Probes and TaqMan® products. &amp;nbsp;Life Technologies had sales of &lt;span class=&quot;xn-money&quot;&gt;$3.6 billion&lt;/span&gt; in 2010, has a workforce of approximately 11,000 people, has a presence in approximately 160 countries, and possesses one of the largest intellectual property estates in the life sciences industry, with approximately 4,000 patents and exclusive licenses. For more information on how we are making a difference, please visit our website: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lifetechnologies.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://www.lifetechnologies.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Life Technologies&#039; Safe Harbor Statement&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This press release includes forward-looking statements about Life Technologies&#039; anticipated results that involve risks and uncertainties. Some of the information contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements as to industry trends and Life Technologies&#039; plans, objectives, expectations and strategy for its business, contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. When used, the words &quot;believe,&quot; &quot;plan,&quot; &quot;intend,&quot; &quot;anticipate,&quot; &quot;target,&quot; &quot;estimate,&quot; &quot;expect&quot; and the like, and/or future tense or conditional constructions (&quot;will,&quot; &quot;may,&quot; &quot;could,&quot; &quot;should,&quot; etc.), or similar expressions, identify certain of these forward-looking statements. Important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in filings made by&amp;nbsp;Life Technologies with the Securities and Exchange Commission.&amp;nbsp;Life Technologies undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Logo:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110216/MM49339LOGO&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110216/MM49339LOGO&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Life Technologies Contact:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;xn-person&quot;&gt;Mauricio Minotta&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;760-929-2456&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;760-805-5266 (mobile)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Mauricio.minotta@lifetech.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Mauricio.minotta@lifetech.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;SOURCE Life Technologies Corporation&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/life-technologies">Life Technologies</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/stanford-university-0">Stanford University</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:20:52 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">301930 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Reminder: Merck to Hold 2011 Full-Year and Fourth-Quarter Sales and       Earnings Conference Call on February 2</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/reminder-merck-hold-2011-full-year-and-fourth-quarter-sales-and-earnings-co?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J.--(&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.businesswire.com&quot;&gt;BUSINESS WIRE&lt;/a&gt;)-- As previously announced on Oct. 31, Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, will hold its 2011 full-year and fourth-quarter sales and earnings conference call with institutional investors and analysts at 8:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 2. During the call, Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer; Adam H. Schechter, president, Global Human Health; and Peter N. Kellogg, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will provide an overview of Merck’s business and financial performance.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Investors are invited to a live audio webcast of Merck&#039;s fourth-quarter earnings conference call on Feb. 2 at 8:00 a.m. EST by visiting Merck&#039;s Web site, &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Finvestors%2Fevents-and-presentations%2Fhome.html&amp;amp;esheet=50146309&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.merck.com%2Finvestors%2Fevents-and-presentations%2Fhome.html&amp;amp;index=1&amp;amp;md5=ced557e74295e2a9b905146361536d6f&quot;&gt;www.merck.com/investors/events-and-presentations/home.html&lt;/a&gt;. Institutional investors and analysts can participate in the call by dialing (706) 758-9927 or (877) 381-5782. Journalists are invited to monitor the call by dialing (706) 758-9928 or (800) 399-7917. A replay of the call will be available starting Feb. 2 at 11 a.m. EST for approximately one week. To listen to the replay, dial (404) 537-3406 or (855) 859-2056 and enter ID No. 23636062.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;About Merck&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today&#039;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 &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com&amp;amp;esheet=50146309&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.merck.com&amp;amp;index=2&amp;amp;md5=5745f48a02135ca6ad9f893dae2f8084&quot;&gt;www.merck.com&lt;/a&gt; and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;bwnowrap bwalignc&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&amp;amp;sty=20120126005387r1&amp;amp;sid=32937&amp;amp;distro=ftp&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONTACT:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Merck&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Media:&lt;br /&gt;
Ron Rogers, 908-423-6449&lt;br /&gt;
or&lt;br /&gt;
Investors:&lt;br /&gt;
Carol Ferguson, 908-423-4465&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; United States&amp;nbsp; North America&amp;nbsp; New Jersey&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; Health&amp;nbsp; Biotechnology&amp;nbsp; Pharmaceutical&amp;nbsp; General Health&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;MEDIA:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Logo&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=107455&amp;amp;vid=2&quot; alt=&quot; Logo &quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:21:00 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">298515 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Merck to Present at the 30th Annual J.P.       Morgan Healthcare Conference</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/merck-present-30th-annual-jp-morgan-healthcare-conference?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J.--(&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.businesswire.com&quot;&gt;BUSINESS WIRE&lt;/a&gt;)-- Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Fabout%2Fleadership%2Fexecutive-committee%2Fkcf-bio-december-2011.pdf&amp;amp;esheet=50126039&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=Kenneth+C.+Frazier&amp;amp;index=1&amp;amp;md5=5810092b1e0528d4853512c2a72e43ed&quot;&gt;Kenneth C. Frazier&lt;/a&gt;, Merck&#039;s chairman and chief executive officer is scheduled to present at the 30th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco Jan. 10, at 3:00 p.m. PST (6:00 p.m. EST). Investors, analysts, members of the media and the general public are invited to listen to a live audio webcast of the presentation at &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Finvestors%2Fevents-and-presentations%2Fhome.html&amp;amp;esheet=50126039&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Finvestors%2Fevents-and-presentations%2Fhome.html&amp;amp;index=2&amp;amp;md5=3e394048cce67ac0113f2b0ebee5f0e3&quot;&gt;http://www.merck.com/investors/events-and-presentations/home.html&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;About Merck&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today&#039;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 &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com&amp;amp;esheet=50126039&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.merck.com&amp;amp;index=3&amp;amp;md5=1786be8c3d370679ffe46c7517d84a8f&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;bwuline&quot;&gt;www.merck.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and connect with us on &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2F%23%21%2Fmerck&amp;amp;esheet=50126039&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=Twitter&amp;amp;index=4&amp;amp;md5=8a6b2c26090d3daa53a3aebfd97ed094&quot;&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMerckBeWell%3Fsk%3Dwall&amp;amp;esheet=50126039&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=Facebook&amp;amp;index=5&amp;amp;md5=fec66b8177987951e1b6d6fd420d48bc&quot;&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fmerck&amp;amp;esheet=50126039&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=YouTube&amp;amp;index=6&amp;amp;md5=8025a8658f1f8cd4d9043de63409e072&quot;&gt;YouTube&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Forward-Looking Statement&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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 (&lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov&amp;amp;esheet=50126039&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.sec.gov&amp;amp;index=7&amp;amp;md5=44e57577e29ec15231c92ca3fa6ec7dc&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;bwuline&quot;&gt;www.sec.gov&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;bwalignc&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&amp;amp;sty=20120109005689r1&amp;amp;sid=32937&amp;amp;distro=ftp&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONTACT:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Merck&lt;br /&gt;
Media:&lt;br /&gt;
Ron Rogers, 908-423-6449&lt;br /&gt;
or&lt;br /&gt;
Investor:&lt;br /&gt;
Carol Ferguson, 908-423-4465&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; United States&amp;nbsp; North America&amp;nbsp; California&amp;nbsp; New Jersey&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; Health&amp;nbsp; Biotechnology&amp;nbsp; Pharmaceutical&amp;nbsp; Professional Services&amp;nbsp; Banking&amp;nbsp; Finance&amp;nbsp; Communications&amp;nbsp; Public Relations/Investor Relations&amp;nbsp; General Health&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;MEDIA:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Logo&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=107455&amp;amp;vid=2&quot; alt=&quot; Logo &quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:21:27 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">284869 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Idera Pharmaceuticals Announces Selection of Toll-like Receptor       Agonist Candidates for Evaluation as Vaccine Adjuvants by </title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/idera-pharmaceuticals-announces-selection-toll-receptor-agonist-candidates-?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.businesswire.com&quot;&gt;BUSINESS WIRE&lt;/a&gt;)-- Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDRA) today announced that Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, has selected several novel Toll-like Receptor (TLR) agonists targeted to TLR7, TLR8 or TLR9 for evaluation and use as vaccine adjuvant candidates under the companies&#039; collaboration and license agreement.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“We are very pleased to have created multiple novel TLR agonists for Merck’s exclusive evaluation and use as vaccine adjuvants,” commented Sudhir Agrawal, D Phil, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Idera. “Our chemistry-based approach for creating TLR-targeted compounds has allowed us to achieve the objective of generating a broad range of TLR-targeted agonists, each with a unique immune response profile. We look forward to Merck’s continued development of these compounds.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;We continue to make progress in our license and research agreement with Idera,&quot; said John Shiver, vice president of vaccines discovery at Merck. &quot;Collaborations such as this are essential as we seek to evaluate new innovative approaches to vaccine discovery and development.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;About the Collaboration&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In December 2006, Idera entered into an exclusive license and research collaboration agreement with Merck to research, develop, and commercialize the use of Idera’s TLR7, 8, and 9 agonists as vaccine adjuvants in the fields of cancer, infectious diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Idera granted Merck worldwide exclusive rights to a number of Idera’s TLR7, 8, and 9 agonists for use in combination with Merck’s therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines in the defined fields. During the four-year research collaboration period, multiple TLR agonists were created by Idera and evaluated by Merck against the criteria established in the agreement. There is no limit to the number of vaccines to which Merck can apply selected agonists. Under the agreement, Merck is obligated to pay milestone payments and royalties on the product sales of vaccines using Idera’s TLR agonist technology.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;About Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Idera Pharmaceuticals applies its proprietary Toll-like Receptor (TLR) drug discovery platform to create immunomodulatory drug candidates. The Company&#039;s TLR-targeted candidates are being developed to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, cancer, and for use as vaccine adjuvants. Additionally, the Company is advancing its gene-silencing oligonucleotide (GSO) technology for the purpose of inhibiting the expression of disease-promoting genes. For more information, visit &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iderapharma.com&amp;amp;esheet=50125998&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iderapharma.com&amp;amp;index=1&amp;amp;md5=a7f9bdc8da7881cb4d89de4b02420f0b&quot;&gt;http://www.iderapharma.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Idera Forward Looking Statements&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “looks forward,” &quot;believes,&quot; &quot;anticipates,&quot; &quot;plans,&quot; &quot;expects,&quot; &quot;estimates,&quot; &quot;intends,&quot; &quot;should,&quot; &quot;could,&quot; &quot;will,&quot; &quot;may,&quot; and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Idera&#039;s actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including whether the Company&#039;s collaborations will be successful or any products based on Idera&#039;s technology will advance into or through the clinical trial process on a timely basis or at all and receive approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies; and such other important factors as are set forth under the caption &quot;Risk Factors&quot; in Idera&#039;s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 which important factors are incorporated herein by reference. Idera disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&amp;amp;sty=20120109005603r1&amp;amp;sid=32937&amp;amp;distro=ftp&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONTACT:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.&lt;br /&gt;
Lou Arcudi, 617-679-5517&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:larcudi@iderapharma.com&quot;&gt;larcudi@iderapharma.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; United States&amp;nbsp; North America&amp;nbsp; Massachusetts&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; Health&amp;nbsp; Biotechnology&amp;nbsp; Pharmaceutical&amp;nbsp; Other Health&amp;nbsp; Research&amp;nbsp; Science&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;MEDIA:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Logo&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=58019&amp;amp;vid=2&quot; alt=&quot; Logo &quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/idera-pharmaceuticals-0">Idera Pharmaceuticals</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/vaccines">Vaccines</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:20:51 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">284769 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Merck to Present at Goldman Sachs 2012 Healthcare Event</title>
 <link>http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/merck-present-goldman-sachs-2012-healthcare-event?utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_source=rss</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J.--(&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.businesswire.com&quot;&gt;BUSINESS WIRE&lt;/a&gt;)-- Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that Kenneth C. Frazier, Merck&#039;s chairman and chief executive officer is scheduled to speak at the Goldman Sachs&#039; &lt;i&gt;Healthcare CEO&#039;s Unscripted: A View from the Top&lt;/i&gt; event in New York Jan. 5, at 8:45 a.m. EDT. Investors, analysts, members of the media and the general public are invited to listen to a live audio webcast of the presentation at &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Finvestors%2Fevents-and-presentations%2Fhome.html&amp;amp;esheet=50119791&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com%2Finvestors%2Fevents-and-presentations%2Fhome.html&amp;amp;index=1&amp;amp;md5=12a12b09c9f3025e50d8309876f87f7f&quot;&gt;http://www.merck.com/investors/events-and-presentations/home.html&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;About Merck&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today&#039;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 &lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merck.com&amp;amp;esheet=50119791&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.merck.com&amp;amp;index=2&amp;amp;md5=51853fc5652f9b2f1ed203765ed530d9&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;bwuline&quot;&gt;www.merck.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Forward-Looking Statement&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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 U.S. and internationally and the exposure to litigation and/or regulatory actions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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 (&lt;a href=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov&amp;amp;esheet=50119791&amp;amp;lan=en-US&amp;amp;anchor=www.sec.gov&amp;amp;index=3&amp;amp;md5=ccc999536168c18e019287679b87b436&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;bwuline&quot;&gt;www.sec.gov&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;bwalignc&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&amp;amp;sty=20120104005475r1&amp;amp;sid=32937&amp;amp;distro=ftp&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONTACT:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Merck&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Media:&lt;br /&gt;
Ron Rogers, 908-423-6449&lt;br /&gt;
or&lt;br /&gt;
Investors:&lt;br /&gt;
Carol Ferguson, 908-423-4465&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; United States&amp;nbsp; North America&amp;nbsp; New Jersey&amp;nbsp; New York&amp;nbsp; Pennsylvania&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:&lt;/b&gt; &amp;nbsp; Health&amp;nbsp; Biotechnology&amp;nbsp; Clinical Trials&amp;nbsp; Pharmaceutical&amp;nbsp; Research&amp;nbsp; Science&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;MEDIA:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Logo&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=107455&amp;amp;vid=2&quot; alt=&quot; Logo &quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr xmlns:sch=&quot;http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://www.fiercebiotech.com/tags/merck">Merck</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:21:00 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator />
 <guid isPermaLink="false">280907 at http://www.fiercebiotech.com</guid>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>

