Merck

Liam Sturgess
8 min read

Merck & Co., Inc., known outside North America as MSD,[1] is an American multinational pharmaceutical company based in Kenilworth, New Jersey.[2]

History

In May 2002, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation purchased stock in Merck.[3]

On August 5, 2010, Merck and the Gates Foundation announced a joint five-year $60 million contribution to the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships for efforts related to HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Botswana.[4]

On June 29, 2016, Merck and Moderna announced they were collaborating on the development of mRNA-based cancer vaccines, including work with Merck's Keytruda, an antibody-based immunotherapy drug.[5]

COVID-19

Near the end of March 2020, Merck joined the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator alongside a "consortium of life sciences companies."[6]

In January 2021, MyID announced a partnership with Merck to "provide the MyID mobile app and wristband to patients" being treated with Merck's Keytruda.[7]

Merck participated as a partner in the This Is Our Shot campaign to mass advertise COVID-19 vaccines, which launched April 28, 2021.[8][9]

Merck collaborated with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics to develop molnupiravir, an oral mutagenic anti-viral compound, to treat COVID-19. In October 2021, the two companies reported that data from their Phase 3 clinical trial showed molnupiravir “cuts the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 by 50% in people who have mild to moderate forms of the disease.”[10][11]

Merck was a sponsor for the National Community Pharmacists Association 2021 Annual Convention from October 9-12, 2021.[12]

On November 30, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee narrowly recommended the use of molnupiravir in a 13-10 vote.[13]

On December 3, 2021, Merck announced it had entered an agreement with the Government of Canada to supply the country with up to one million "patient courses" of molnupiravir.[14]

In January 2022, Merck and Ridgeback announced they would supply UNICEF with 3 million doses of molnupiravir through the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) Therapeutics Partnership.[15]

Organization

Name Position Notes
William Daley Board Member[16] JPMorgan Chase, Third Way, Boeing, Council on Foreign Relations
Julie Gerberding Chief Patient Officer and Executive Vice President of Population Health and Sustainability (former)[1:1] The Commons Project, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Richard Henriques Senior Vice President of Finance for Global Human Health; Vice President and Corporate Controller; Principal Accounting Officer (all former)[17] Arbutus Biopharma, University of Pennsylvania, EMulate Therapeutics, Cabaletta Bio, Franklin Institute, Heritage Conservancy, Episcopal Community Services, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Fernando Pons Regional Director Project Realization (former)[18] Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), ED&F Man, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), ExxonMobil, Rio Tinto
Walter Strapps Director of RNAi Therapeutics (former)[19] Deep Genomics, Liberate Bio, Carver Biosciences, Gemini Therapeutics, Intellia Therapeutics, Sirna Therapeutics, Sentigen Biosciences, Sona Nanotech
Princess Therese of Liechtenstein Strategic Projects Manager (former)[20] Geopolitical Intelligence Services (GIS), M Ventures

Subsidiaries

  • EMD Serono
  • M Ventures
  • Merck Foundation
  • Merck Global Health Innovation Fund
  • Partnership for Giving (P4G)

Partners

Merck is partnered with or a member of:

Merck has been a tenant at MaRS Discovery District.[33] The company has received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund.[34]

Activities

Merck has provided notable funding to:

  1. Moody, M., & Herrmann, J. (2022, March 1). Dr. Julie L. Gerberding to Retire from Merck. Merck. https://web.archive.org/web/20240706000359/https://www.merck.com/news/dr-julie-l-gerberding-to-retire-from-merck/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. The Trusted Provider of Medical Information since 1899. Merck Manuals. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://archive.ph/nYPYj ↩︎

  3. Bank, D., & Buckman, R. (2002, May 17). Gates Foundation buys stakes in drug makers. Wall Street Journal. https://archive.ph/XP9QA ↩︎

  4. Merck, Gates Foundation Give $60 Million to Fight HIV/AIDS in Botswana. (2010, August 25). Philanthropy News Digest; Candid. http://archive.today/2023.06.21-180752/https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/merck-gates-foundation-give-60-million-to-fight-hiv-aids-in-botswana ↩︎

  5. Eisele, P., & Ronaldo, C. (2016, June 29). Merck and Moderna Announce Strategic Collaboration to Advance Novel mRNA-Based Personalized Cancer Vaccines with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) for the Treatment of Multiple Types of Cancer. Moderna. https://web.archive.org/web/20170405190328/https://www.modernatx.com/newsroom/press-releases/merck-and-moderna-announce-strategic-collaboration-advance-novel-mrna-based ↩︎

  6. Staines, R. (2020, March 26). Pharma giants including Novartis collaborate on COVID-19 therapies. Pharmaphorum. http://archive.today/2022.01.18-165943/https://pharmaphorum.com/news/collaborate-covid19-therapies/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. MyID launches partnership with Merck & Co Inc. for KEYTRUDA. (2021, January 20). St George News. http://archive.today/2023.07.18-183154/https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/announcements/myid-launches-partnership-with-merck-co-inc-for-keytruda/ ↩︎

  8. Home. This Is Our Shot Canada. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230714200256/https://thisisourshot.ca/ ↩︎

  9. “This is Our Shot” Rallies Canadians to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19. (2021, April 28). This Is Our Shot Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20230714200244/https://thisisourshot.ca/this-is-our-shot-rallies-canadians-to-get-vaccinated-against-covid-19/ ↩︎

  10. Moody, M., Ryan, P., Dannenbaum, P., Kruper, R., & Carvalho, C. (2021, October 1). Merck and Ridgeback’s Investigational Oral Antiviral Molnupiravir Reduced the Risk of Hospitalization or Death by Approximately 50 Percent Compared to Placebo for Patients with Mild or Moderate COVID-19 in Positive Interim Analysis of Phase 3 Study. Merck. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://archive.ph/Ov4Cg ↩︎

  11. Halford, B., Howes, L., & Satyanarayana, M. (2021, October 1). Molnupiravir reduces risk of hospitalization and death in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. Chemical & Engineering News; American Chemical Society. https://archive.ph/8sJfE ↩︎

  12. Annual Convention. National Community Pharmacists Association. Retrieved October 2, 2021, from https://web.archive.org/web/20211002000616/https://ncpa.org/annual-convention ↩︎

  13. Lee, J. (2021, November 30). FDA advisers recommend Merck’s COVID-19 pill in close vote. MarketWatch. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/X40X1 ↩︎

  14. Kilgore, T. (2021, December 3). Merck to supply Government of Canada with up to 1 million courses molnupiravir, its COVID-19 pill. MarketWatch. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from http://archive.today/2021.12.06-015701/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/merck-to-supply-government-of-canada-with-up-to-1-million-courses-molnupiravir-its-covid-19-pill-2021-12-03 ↩︎

  15. Moody, M. (2022, January 18). Merck and Ridgeback Announce Supply Agreement with UNICEF for Molnupiravir, an Investigational Oral Antiviral COVID-19 Medicine. Merck. https://archive.ph/gpZRy ↩︎

  16. William M. Daley Named Chairman Of The Midwest Of JPMorgan Chase. (2004, May 17). JPMorgan Chase. https://web.archive.org/web/20240706004914/https://jpmorganchaseco.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/william-m-daley-named-chairman-midwest-jpmorgan-chase ↩︎

  17. Richard C. Henriques. Arbutus BioPharma. Retrieved September 26, 2021, from https://web.archive.org/web/20210926102848/https://investor.arbutusbio.com/board-directors/richard-c-henriques ↩︎

  18. Fernando Pons. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Retrieved July 6, 2024, from https://web.archive.org/web/20240706000029/https://www.ebrd.com/executive-committee/fernando-pons.html ↩︎

  19. Walter Strapps: Positions, Relations and Network. MarketScreener. Retrieved July 6, 2024, from https://web.archive.org/web/20240706030556/https://uk.marketscreener.com/insider/WALTER-STRAPPS-A37E7P/ ↩︎

  20. GIS Expert Princess Therese of Liechtenstein. (2022, January 26). Geopolitical Intelligence Services. https://web.archive.org/web/20240407012448/https://www.gisreportsonline.com/e/liechtenstein-therese-of/ ↩︎

  21. Current Organizational Members. AcademyHealth. Retrieved May 8, 2022, from https://archive.ph/CjV83 ↩︎

  22. ACTIV. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.01.11-042823/https://www.nih.gov/research-training/medical-research-initiatives/activ ↩︎

  23. Member Logos. Ad Standards. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://web.archive.org/web/20210917052119/https://adstandards.ca/about/membership/member-logos/ ↩︎

  24. AVAC Member Organizations. (2021). Adult Vaccine Access Coalition. http://archive.today/2022.07.08-060340/https://adultvaccinesnow.org/our-membership/avac-member-organizations/ ↩︎

  25. List of Members. (2022, March 4). Alliance for a Stronger FDA. http://archive.today/2022.07.08-045902/https://www.strengthenfda.org/members ↩︎

  26. BIO Member Directory. Biotechnology Innovation Organization. Retrieved September 30, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220930103715/https://www.bio.org/bio-member-directory ↩︎

  27. Partners. CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230202063247/https://www.hivnet.ubc.ca/partners/ ↩︎

  28. Meet Our Partners. Concordia. Retrieved February 14, 2024, from http://archive.today/2024.02.14-062904/https://www.concordia.net/meet-our-partners/ ↩︎

  29. Members & Governance. World Federation of Advertisers. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20231202141727/https://wfanet.org/leadership/garm/members-governance ↩︎

  30. Current Members. MCDC. Retrieved January 3, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.01.03-195328/https://www.medcbrn.org/current-members/ ↩︎

  31. About. PhRMA. Retrieved September 14, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230914221250/https://phrma.org/About ↩︎

  32. Merck. World Economic Forum. Retrieved February 10, 2022, from https://archive.ph/a7J76 ↩︎

  33. Treurnicht, I., & Nixon, G. (2014, December 9). 2012 MaRS Annual Report. Issuu; MaRS. https://issuu.com/derekaubichon/docs/mar-anr6786_2012_annual_report_elec/1 ↩︎

  34. Portfolio - Page 2. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Strategic Innovation Fund. Retrieved September 27, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230927091305/https://sif.gatesfoundation.org/portfolio/?fwp_paged=2&fwp_per_page=30 ↩︎

  35. Who we are. (2021, May 12). 19 to Zero. https://web.archive.org/web/20210512021256/https://www.19tozero.ca/who-we-are ↩︎

  36. How We’re Funded. (2022). Alliance for Aging Research. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715161317/https://www.agingresearch.org/about-us/how-were-funded/ ↩︎

  37. Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder Program. American Red Cross. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.11.15-233416/https://www.redcross.org/donations/companies-and-foundations/adgp-disaster-responder-program.html↩︎ ↩︎

  38. Our Public Health Heroes. BCCDC Foundation for Public Health. Retrieved July 25, 2021, from https://web.archive.org/web/20210725052518/https://bccdcfoundation.org/our-donors/ ↩︎

  39. Final Release Package A-2023-00059 CBC, Advertising Companies. CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved October 1, 2023, from https://archive.org/details/final-release-package-a-2023-00059-cbc-advertising-companies ↩︎

  40. Pekeles, G. S. Outfront: Annual Report 2007-2008. Canadian Paediatric Society. Retrieved June 26, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230604214219/https://cps.ca/uploads/publications/AnnualReport07-08-1.pdf ↩︎ ↩︎

  41. Lenzer, J. (2015). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: protecting the private good? BMJ, 350(may15 3), h2362–h2362. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h2362 ↩︎

  42. Supporters of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO. (2020, May 26). WHO Foundation. https://web.archive.org/web/20200526183201/https://covid19responsefund.org/en/supporters ↩︎

  43. Turque, B. (2000, August 20). The Soul And The Steel. Newsweek. http://archive.today/2020.08.06-155924/https://www.newsweek.com/soul-and-steel-158731 ↩︎

  44. Who We Are. Global Liver Institute. Retrieved July 10, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230710042334/https://globalliver.org/who-we-are/ ↩︎

  45. Leading the Way to 2030: 2018 Annual Report. Hepatitis B Foundation. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230314121320/https://www.hepb.org/assets/Uploads/HepB-2018-Annual-Report-FINAL.pdf ↩︎

  46. Stern, W. P., & London, H. I. (2003, January 1). 2002 Hudson Institute Annual Report. Hudson Institute. https://web.archive.org/web/20130923185459/http://www.hudson.org/files/publications/Hudson2002AnnualReportFinal.pdf ↩︎

  47. Peter Andrew McCullough. Open Payments Data - CMS. Retrieved February 2, 2024, from https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/physician/335114 ↩︎

  48. Plump, A., & Miller, A. M. (2022, June). 2021 Annual Report. PhRMA Foundation. https://web.archive.org/web/20230219205032/https://www.phrmafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PhRMAFoundation_2021AnnualReport.pdf ↩︎

  49. Merck & Co. OpenSecrets. Retrieved July 5, 2024, from https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/merck-co/recipients?id=D000000275 ↩︎

  50. More of Our Partners. United Nations Foundation. Retrieved October 1, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20231001222831/https://unfoundation.org/who-we-are/our-partners/more-of-our-partners-2/ ↩︎

  51. Voluntary contributions by fund and by contributor, 2021. (2022). World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20220516042059/https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA75/A75_INF5-en.pdf ↩︎

  52. Dasgupta, A. (2022). From Commitments to Action: Annual Report 2021 (pp. 38–47). World Resources Institute. https://web.archive.org/web/20220730190344/https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-04/wri-annual-report-2021.pdf ↩︎

Profiles
About the author
Liam Sturgess

Liam Sturgess

Liam Sturgess is a Canadian writer, researcher and investigative reporter focused on issues of human rights and civil liberties, with a particular interest in the COVID-19 pandemic. He is the founder of White Rose Intelligence.

Read next

CBA Task Force on Justice Issues Arising from COVID-19

Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19

Decentralized Radical Autonomous Search Team Investigating COVID-19

The Courage to Face COVID-19

Adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines

Knowledge is Freedom

Research and intelligence in defense of liberty

White Rose Intelligence

Great! You’ve successfully signed up.

Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.

You've successfully subscribed to White Rose Intelligence.

Your link has expired.

Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.

Success! Your billing info has been updated.

Your billing was not updated.