Merck Wins Life Science Industry Award® for Best Use of Social Media

• Company recognized for its strategic use of social media platforms

Darmstadt, Germany, January 15, 2019 — Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that it has been recognized by BioInformatics LLC with a 2018 Life Science Industry Award® for best use of social media.

“This recognition reflects the opinions of our scientific customers and industry peers,” said Renee Connolly, head of Communications & Corporate Responsibility, Life Science, at Merck. “Congratulations to our global Life Science Communications and Digital Marketing teams for creating and executing a top-notch social and digital strategy that clearly is working to engage our customers with content that educates and inspires them to solve their toughest problems.”

Merck was selected for the award through a survey of more than 2,000 scientists from around the world who are engaged in all major life science facets of basic and pre-clinical research and pharmaceutical research and development. Recipients of the Life Science Industry Awards® are determined not only by the number of votes received, but also on the satisfaction and loyalty of their customers.

The Life Science business of Merck engages stakeholders across numerous social media channels, including LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, by understanding the evolving interests of their followers and providing valuable content to those online communities. In addition, the company’s employee advocacy program, which encourages employees to share their industry expertise on social media, has proven successful in raising the global visibility of Merck as a leader in life science.

“Science has always depended on communicating important findings with others,” said Craig Overpeck, CEO of BioInformatics. “Social media is changing the way we communicate with each other and Merck is exceling at using this always evolving medium.”

The Life Science Industry Awards® have been presented every other year since 2002. In 2016, Merck won the award for “Most Memorable Advertising” and in 2014, the company won the award for "Greenest" Life Science Company, recognizing its commitment to corporate responsibility. The scientists who voted are all members of The Science Advisory Board®, a global online community of scientific and medical professionals owned and managed by BioInformatics Inc. since 1997.

Follow Merck on Twitter @Merckgroup, on Facebook @merckgroup and on LinkedIn.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science, and electronics. Around 58,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene-editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck generated sales of € 17.5 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics.