For more than 100 years, Merck & Co., Inc.'s (Merck) mission has been to discover and develop novel medicines that address unmet medical needs - grounded in a philosophy of putting patients first, and conducting our business with integrity.

As a pharmaceutical company, we realise that our commitment to scientific excellence, ethics and integrity is of critical importance to patients, health care professionals, our employees and investors - and to our business success.

As a result, the company has clearly defined core values and standards which are continually reinforced and practiced throughout the company and its subsidiaries:

1. Our business is preserving and improving human life.All of our actions must be measured by our success in achieving this goal. We value, above all, our ability to serve everyone who can benefit from the appropriate use of our products and services, thereby providing lasting consumer satisfaction.
2. We are committed to the highest standards of ethics and integrity. We are responsible to our customers, to Merck employees and their families, to the environments we inhabit, and to the societies we serve worldwide. In discharging our responsibilities, we do not take professional or ethical shortcuts. Our interactions with all segments of society must reflect the high standards we profess.
3. We are dedicated to the highest level of scientific excellence and commit our research to improving human and animal health and the quality of life. We strive to identify the most critical needs of consumers and customers, and we devote our resources to meeting those needs.
4. We expect profits, but only from work that satisfies customer needs and benefits humanity. Our ability to meet our responsibilities depends on maintaining a financial position that invites investment in leading-edge research and that makes possible effective delivery of research results.
5. We recognise that the ability to excel -- to most competitively meet society's and customers' needs -- depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill, diversity and teamwork of our employees, and we value these qualities most highly. To this end, we strive to create an environment of mutual respect, encouragement and teamwork -- an environment that rewards commitment and performance and is responsive to the needs of our employees and their families.