Careers at Merck

Mission

Merck & Co. (“Merck”)’s mission is “to discover, develop and provide innovative products and services that save and improve lives around the world.”

Business segments

Merck has four main business segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, Alliances, and Healthcare Services.

• Pharmaceutical – The Pharmaceutical segment is the largest segment, taking up over 88% of total sales. The segment is further divided into human health pharmaceutical products, and vaccines. The former consists of medicines and other therapeutic and preventive pharmaceuticals. Vaccines are preventive in nature, and are produced at the pediatric, adolescent, and adult levels.
• Animal Health – Merck also produces medicines and vaccines, similar in scope but not in scale to its Pharmaceuticals segment, for animals.
• Alliances – The Alliances segment has been discontinued. It was a result of the company’s collaboration with AstraZeneca, until the relationship was terminated mid-2014.
• Healthcare Services – The Healthcare Services segments focuses on the delivery of healthcare to patients – it looks at engagement, health analytics, and clinical services, all of which are aimed at improving healthcare services for patients.

In addition to the above, Merck also held an additional segment, Consumer Care, which was divested in October 2014.

History

Merck, started in 1668, is the oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company in the world. The company was started by Friedrich Jacob Merck, who acquired a pharmacy (called the Angel Pharmacy) in Darmstadt, Germany. Merck died and was succeeded by his nephew, Georg Friedrich Merck, who continued to operate the pharmacy. He was succeeded by a series of other members of the Merck family.

In the 18^th century, after the discovery of morphine, the Angel Pharmacy began manufacturing alkaloids on an industrial scale – this product was widely known in the 19^th century for being of a high quality. The company transformed, with Emanuel Merck at the helm in the 19^th century, into a research-based company in addition to doing mere production and sale. In 1850, the business, previously a sole proprietorship, was structured as a partnership between Emanuel and his two sons.

The 19^th century also saw the pharmacy selling to businesses outside of Germany, with some being in Basel and in Paris. The company expanded in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century into markets outside of Germany, with offices in London and New York, amongst others. The New York office was structured as an independent company, named Merck & Co, which is later expropriated by the US government and sold as a result of the First World War 80% of the company, which originally belonged to the German company, was put on sale.

The McKenna Corporation, financed by a number of banks at the behest of George Merck, was set up for the sole purpose of purchasing the 80% stake, which it did. The result of this is that Merck & Co has the naming rights to “Merck” only in North America, while the German company has the rights to the “Merck” name in the rest of the world. Today, Merck & Co is known as Merck Sharp & dolme, or MSD Sharp & Dolme, in the rest of the world while the German company is known as EMD in North America.

Merck & Co merged, in 1953, with Sharp & Dolme, which brought to the combined company vaccine technology, marketing expertise, and a sophisticated and large sales and distribution system. The combined company was the largest drugmaker in the US at the time. The next significant M&A activity was in 2009, when the company merged with a competitor, Schering-Plough.

The deal, which was in reality an acquisition, was worth USD41 billion, and was effected through a reverse merger where Schering-Plough was renamed “Merck & Co” while the original company was renamed “Merck Sharp & Dolme”.

Benefits at Merck

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