We engage with our stakeholders to exchange information, views and recommendations, share activities and progress against key goals, and partner toward common objectives. Engagement may take the form of one-on-one meetings, expert input forums or roundtable discussions, industry coalitions or formal partnerships.

For example, in 2010, we held an Expert Input Forum with a group of stakeholders on the topic of access to health (ATH). The purpose was to discuss our evolving strategy to improve access to healthcare and medicines globally, with an emphasis on middle- and low-income countries. Their insights helped to guide the development of our final strategy and specifically provided input that helped us to:

• Create simple and comprehensive ATH Guiding Principles
• Develop metrics to measure our progress against the principles
• Ensure our strategy is commercially applicable

Stakeholder input also helped shape the company's new HIV Access Strategy. Discussions led to a focus on in-country, on-the-ground programs to help facilitate proper use of our newest HIV treatment ISENTRESS^® (raltegravir) and also helped inform the structure of voluntary licensing agreements with generic manufacturers. Stakeholders, including the patient groups in the US and Europe also offered important perspectives which played an important role in the design of the components of the VICTRELIS^™ (boceprevir) Early Access Program and helped inform Merck's clinical research program in HCV/HIV co-infected patients.

Below are other examples of stakeholder input that helped to inform our decision making and actions.