 03/08/2011 22:00PM Australia/Sydney WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. & PUNE, India (BUSINESS WIRE)
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known outside the United States and Canada as MSD,
and Serum Institute of India Limited, an Indian company, announced today
an agreement to work together to develop and commercialize a
pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) for use in the emerging and
developing world countries. It is estimated that one out of every two
children immunized in the world is vaccinated by a vaccine manufactured
by Serum Institute. In addition, Merck has developed more than one-third
of the world's vaccines for children, adolescents and adults.
"Serum Institute is committed to improving access to and affordability
of vaccines for children throughout the world," said Cyrus Poonawalla,
CMD, Chairman, Serum Institute, "In working closely with Merck in the
development of this collaboration it became clear that we share parallel
public health goals and that our passion for getting vaccines to
everyone who needs them is made even stronger by working together."
Pneumococcal disease is a bacterial infection that causes pneumonia,
meningitis, sepsis and other life-threatening ailments. Current
estimates show that at least one million children die of pneumococcal
disease every year, including mostly young children in developing
countries.
"Working side by side with Serum gives us the best chance of developing
and bringing a product to the market that will help to protect more
babies and children," said Julie L. Gerberding, president, Merck
Vaccines. "Expanding vaccine access to emerging and developing markets
is a top priority and we feel strongly that this collaboration will be a
giant step toward impacting the devastation of pneumococcal disease."
Together, Merck and Serum will form a Product Advisory Committee to
oversee the activities required to develop and seek approval for PCV and
pursue World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification. Under the terms
of the agreement, Merck, through an affiliate, will receive specific
rights to market PCV in certain designated territories and Serum will
receive specific rights in other territories. Both companies will
contribute to the development and manufacture of PCV. Specific financial
details of this agreement are confidential. This collaboration does not
impact the on-going vaccine development programs in both the
organizations.
About Merck
Today's Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be
well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.
Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and
consumer care and animal health products, we work with customers and
operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health
solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to
healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For
more information, visit www.merck.com.
About Serum Institute
Serum Institute of India based in Pune/India today is the largest
manufacturer of DTP and MMR Group of Vaccines and supplying its products
to U.N. Agencies as also to more than 140 countries. The recent launch
of MenAfriVacTM which was especially developed for
Sub-Saharan Africa has been acknowledged by one and all related to the
vaccine community. It is a policy and commitment of Serum Institute of
India to make the new vaccines available at affordable prices to the
children of developing world. For more information, visit www.seruminstitute.com.
Merck Forward-Looking Statement
This news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may include,
but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the merger
between Merck and Schering-Plough, including future financial and
operating results, the combined company’s plans, objectives,
expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical
facts. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and
expectations of Merck’s management and are subject to significant risks
and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements.
The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to
differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: the
possibility that the expected synergies from the merger of Merck and
Schering-Plough will not be realized, or will not be realized within the
expected time period; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation
and health care legislation; the risk that the businesses will not be
integrated successfully; disruption from the merger making it more
difficult to maintain business and operational relationships, Merck’s
ability to accurately predict future market conditions; dependence on
the effectiveness of Merck’s patents and other protections for
innovative products; the risk of new and changing regulation and health
policies in the United States and internationally and the exposure to
litigation and/or regulatory actions.
Merck 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 Merck’s 2010 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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