Merck has a leadership role as a global corporate citizen in our respective industries.

We believe that providing support through grants or donations to third-party medical, scientific and patient organizations is an important way to advance our mutual objectives to improve health and advance patient care. We have robust standards and policies in place to ensure that our grants are intended and provided in support of improving patient care, and are not promotional or likely to be perceived as promotional in nature, or provided to induce or reward prescribing our products. Further, any grant or donation must also be permitted by and aligned with local country laws and regulations.

Merck discloses grants of more than $500 provided by the company's Global Human Health division to U.S. organizations in support of independent, accredited educational programs for healthcare professionals, as well as grants to patient organizations and other medical education or scientific societies/organizations in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada.

Merck updates grants to medical, scientific and patient organizations quarterly in the United States, and annually for ex-U.S. jurisdictions. We will continue to expand our disclosure into other regions as we work to build the infrastructure and systems necessary to allow us to report this information on a global basis. The following three principles guide our approach to providing financial support to medical, scientific and patient organizations:

Independence

Merck respects the independence of medical, scientific and patient organizations and refrains from using our financial support to influence the policies of organizations or to promote specific medicines.

Transparency

Merck supports transparency of financial support provided to medical, scientific and patient organizations. We believe this is an important step in building public trust with both Merck and those to whom we provide support. Making our support public also enhances the visibility of Merck's commitment to help advance health and science.

Compliance with Local Laws

In providing financial support to medical, scientific and patient organizations, Merck will comply with all relevant local laws and regulations.

As part of our commitment to these principles, Merck regularly reviews and updates our Code of Conduct to reaffirm our mission and commitment to scientific excellence, ethics and integrity. These principles are also reflected in the company's corporate policies, procedures and guidelines, which every Merck employee is responsible for understanding and appropriately applying.