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Merck Statement on the PhRMA Guiding Principles on Direct to Consumer Advertisements About Prescription Medicines

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

In response to the new PhRMA Guiding Principles on Direct to Consumer Advertisements About Prescription Medicines, Merck Chief Executive Officer and President Richard T. Clark issued the following statement:

"At Merck, we believe in the value of DTC advertising in improving consumer awareness of diseases, conditions, and the availability of treatment options that may improve health and the quality of lives. Our DTC advertising is designed to meet these goals. Given this commitment, we were an active participant in the development of the Principles, and will follow them.

"While many of the Principles are already standard practice at Merck, I believe that they can further enhance the ability of DTC advertising to help consumers achieve better health outcomes.

"We are particularly encouraged that the Principles include a requirement to submit ads to the FDA before their use. Merck has had a long-standing policy to voluntarily submit new DTC advertising to FDA for review and comment. Merck also acts on those comments, including resubmission of materials where appropriate, prior to airing or publishing.

"The Principles also reflect our practice of spending an appropriate amount of time to educate health professionals about a new medicine or therapeutic indication before commencing a DTC campaign.

"Merck's DTC advertising encourages consumers to take action to improve their health, especially seeing their health care provider. Ultimately, Merck strives to enable consumers to achieve better health outcomes by delivering accurate, relevant information on disease prevention, identification, and treatment in an understandable manner. We believe that our practices, including those in the Principles, will help Merck and the patients we serve, to better achieve positive health outcomes."

About Merck

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. Established in 1891, Merck discovers, develops, manufactures and markets vaccines and medicines in more than 20 therapeutic categories. The company devotes extensive efforts to increase access to medicines through far-reaching programs that not only donate Merck medicines but help deliver them to the people who need them. Merck also publishes unbiased health information as a not-for-profit service. For more information, visit www.merck.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This document contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding product development, product potential or financial performance. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect Merck's business, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements in Item 1 of Merck's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2004, and in its periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, which the company incorporates by reference.

Source: Business Wire

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