January 30, 2018

Merck Animal Health Highlights Commitment to “Always Producing More” for Poultry Industry at 2018 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE)

Fifth Annual Culinary Tour of Nations Luncheon
Expert Conversations Via Step Up to Solutions
Merck Animal Health Poultry Ph.D. Fellowship Award

MADISON, N.J., January 30, 2018 – Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada) today announced its renewed commitment of “Always Producing More” for the poultry industry with several programs at the 2018 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE), which are aimed at helping customers learn more about poultry production across the world and troubleshoot issues in their operations. The company also will announce a doctoral student recipient of the Merck Animal Health Poultry Ph.D. Fellowship Award presented in association with the Poultry Science Association Foundation (PSAF). The IPPE (http://ippexpo.com/) is being held in Atlanta, Georgia, from January 30-February 1, 2018.

“At the Expo, the company will host the fifth Annual Culinary Tour of Nations luncheon, where attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy poultry dishes from different continents while networking with poultry production professionals from around the world. The invitation-only luncheon will be held on January 31 from 12:00-1:30pm ET in the Georgia World Congress Center (Building C, Level 3, GA Ballroom, Section 2).

A limited number of attendees will be invited to Step Up to Solutions at the Merck Animal Health booth (#C2807), where they can have one-on-one consultations with experts on issues surrounding health, husbandry and processing issues, such as avian diagnostics, poultry-building ventilation, disease diagnosis and pathology, broiler nutrition and management and gut immunology.

Attendees who are interested in attending the Culinary Tour of Nations event or Step Up to Solutions should contact their local Merck Animal Health sales representative or visit the Merck Animal Health booth at the Expo (Booth #C2807).

“At Merck Animal Health, we are committed to providing our customers with our commitment of always producing more for them in the areas of innovation, customer centricity and the knowledge and solutions they need to improve their business,” said Taylor Barbosa, DVM, Ph.D., ACPV, Executive Director, Global Poultry Marketing, MSD Animal Health. “We are pleased to offer these educational initiatives at the Expo where these important conversations will continue to support our customers by ensuring that they have substantial information to make sound business decisions.”

“The commitment extends to key products in our global poultry portfolio, which include INNOVAX^®-ND-IBD, the first-ever, live vaccine made with biotechnology, which protects against three highly infectious diseases in poultry — Newcastle Disease (ND), Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD), and Marek’s Disease (MD), and EXZOLT^® (fluralaner), a breakthrough prescription product for treatment of Poultry Red Mite infestations,” Dr. Barbosa said.

During the Culinary Tour of Nations, executives from Merck Animal Health in collaboration with the Poultry Science Association Foundation (PSAF), will present Ms. Sohini S. Bhatia, a second-year, doctoral student in the Department of Poultry Science at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, with the Merck Animal Health Poultry Ph.D. Fellowship Award.

Ms. Bhatia’s research project involves the use of electron beam (ionizing radiation) to inactivate Clostridium perfringens in order to induce a metabolically active yet non culturable (MAyNC) state, which will create a novel vaccine to control Necrotic Enteritis in poultry. Her research will be conducted in the Poultry Science Department at Texas A&M University, the National Center for Electron Beam Research, and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Food and Feed Safety Research Unit in College Station, Texas.

“We are pleased to recognize Sohini’s research as part of our commitment to advance the future of poultry science,” said Dr. Barbosa. “We believe this opportunity will help prepare students for their vital roles within the poultry industry and contribute to advancements in poultry health and performance.”

Merck Animal Health’s grant, which supports the research of talented doctoral students pursuing a career in poultry science, was made possible through the Poultry Science Association Foundation Capital Campaign. Created in 2016, the Merck Animal Health Poultry Ph.D. Fellowship Award is awarded each year to a doctoral student pursuing a degree in poultry sciences. Ms. Bhatia, who was selected out of a field of 26 applicants by a seven-member task force from the Poultry Science Association Foundation, will be awarded $33,000 per year over a three-year period, which includes a student stipend, tuition and fees. To date, there have been two Poultry Ph.D. Fellowship Awards presented at the IPPE Congress in 2016 and 2017, respectively, to Ms. Yi Han at Ohio State University, and Ms. Maria Arendt at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

About Merck Animal Health

For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to the Science of Healthier Animals™, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter at @MerckAH.

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 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 2016 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.).

Please see Prescribing Information for INNOVAX^®-ND-IBD at [https://www.innovax-vaccines.com/]