Merck Donates to American Red Cross to Support Greater St. Louis Flood Victims

St. Louis, Missouri, January 8, 2016 — Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced it has donated $10,000 to the American Red Cross of the Greater St. Louis Region in support of the organization’s flood relief efforts. In addition, the company will match any Red Cross donations made by its employees in St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri.

“Our company has a long history of giving back to the communities in which we live and work,” said Udit Batra, CEO of Merck. “In times of crisis, what we do becomes even more important. We support the efforts of the American Red Cross in the St. Louis region and are partnering with our employees to make a difference for those individuals impacted by the recent flooding.”

The American Red Cross is focusing its efforts on helping those recovering from the massive flooding that struck portions of Missouri and Illinois in late December 2015. Red Cross disaster assessment teams are continuing to check flood damage to homes to help determine the extent and location of assistance needed. Volunteers are distributing comfort kits and clean-up supplies and meeting with those affected to help plan next steps in the recovery process.

About Merck
Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life – from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2014, Merck generated sales of € 11.3 billion in 66 countries.

Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.