KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merck & Company (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today a commitment to strengthen health systems affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through Merck for Mothers, the company’s global initiative to help end preventable maternal deaths, the company will provide $3 million to help health systems better meet the needs of pregnant women before, during and following delivery while tackling COVID-19.

“Our goal in establishing Merck for Mothers in 2011 was to advance the quality of maternal health care and improve access to care during one of the most critical moments in a woman’s life,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “That call to action for us is even stronger in the midst of the pandemic. That is why we are increasing our efforts to strengthen the capacity of our health care systems to support these women.”

“Our health systems and heroic health care providers are fully focused on COVID-19, but childbirth will not wait for the pandemic to ease,” said Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, chief patient officer at Merck. “We are eager to partner with our many collaborators working to help end maternal mortality to provide enhanced care to pregnant women and new mothers at this crucial time for them, and this crucial time for us as a society.”

Merck for Mothers will direct investments to efforts in the U.S. and globally in countries impacted by COVID-19 to help address maternal health challenges that are arising as a result of the pandemic. Proposals will be considered on an invitation-only basis.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Merck is focused on protecting the safety of its employees and their families, ensuring that our supply of medicines and vaccines reach our patients, contributing our scientific expertise to the development of antiviral approaches, and supporting our healthcare providers and our communities. Merck has also launched a program to enable our medically trained employees to volunteer their time to aid their communities while maintaining their base pay.

The $3 million in program funding from Merck for Mothers adds to Merck’s support for global, national and local relief efforts. With this commitment from Merck for Mothers, Merck has contributed or committed more than $11 million to COVID-19 relief efforts thus far. This support has included donations of medicines, protective personal equipment (PPE) donations for health care providers and funding to relief organizations, including the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund in support of the World Health Organization and to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation Emergency Response Fund.

To learn more about how our company is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.merck.com.

About Merck
For more than 125 years, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases in pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate our commitment to patients and population health by increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and animals – including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases – as we aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

About Merck for Mothers
Merck for Mothers is our company’s $500 million initiative to create a world where no woman has to die giving life. Applying Merck’s business and scientific resources, we collaborate with partners to improve the health and well-being of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. For more information, visit www.merckformothers.com.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of the recent global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19); the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).

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