Dear Friends,

Our world is changing rapidly. We recognize that expectations for companies like Merck are now higher than ever before. We, of course, need to continue to be both innovative and profitable, but need to do so in a way that protects the environment, supports communities, respects employees, and demonstrates ethical behavior. For a global healthcare leader like Merck, we must go beyond our core offering of medicines and vaccines to help make healthcare more accessible to the many that still do not have meaningful access to it. To meet these growing expectations and Merck's own values, we must perform like never before. For us to thrive, we must transform ourselves into a stronger, more agile healthcare company that is driven by our unwavering commitment to do the right thing by all of its constituents.

Specifically, we are investing in high growth areas like the emerging markets where we believe Merck is well positioned to address significant unmet medical needs; we are focusing on priority disease areas including diabetes, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases; and we are innovating new ways to improve health outcomes. Our vision is of a commercially sustainable business that both increases the accessibility of our products globally and helps build local capacity for quality healthcare services for those who need them most. We are committed to addressing critical social, environmental and economic challenges to ensure the health of our business and of the society in which we operate.

I am pleased with what we've accomplished so far, but Merck must continue to discover new ways to overcome the challenges ahead. With our legacy of scientific excellence, customer focus, and innovation and our strategic focus on corporate responsibility, we are fully committed to leading the future of healthcare and we are tireless in our pursuit of discovering better answers, better actions, and better results.

This year's Corporate Responsibility Report highlights our achievements and plans - but it's only the beginning of our corporate responsibility journey. To succeed in the years ahead, we must listen more and do more to make a positive difference in the lives of people around the world. We invite you to join us on this journey toward a healthier future.

Sincerely,

Ken Frazier
President and CEO
September 2011