Merck’s Contribution Will Help Swim Across
America Raise $100 Million for Cancer Research Over the Next
Decade
Merck Employees to Conduct Their Own “Swim
Across America” Starting in 2018
To help support innovation in cancer research, Merck (NYSE:MRK),
known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced
that the company will make a $3 million charitable contribution to
Swim Across America. Established 30 years ago, Swim Across America,
a national nonprofit organization, was founded with the purpose of
granting the proceeds from its benefit swims to fund cancer
research and clinical trials.
“Every 15 minutes, 50 Americans are diagnosed with cancer,” said
Rob Butcher, CEO of Swim Across America. “The good news is that
there is hope for more Americans to become survivors than ever
before, and Swim Across America’s commitment to finding new cures
and treatments has been an important catalyst for that progress. We
are going to apply Merck’s contribution to better support our
existing benefit swims and add new ones with a goal of funding $100
million into cancer research and clinical trials in the next
decade.”
In further support of Merck’s mission of inventing for life, the
company will look to complete its own “swim across America” by
establishing Merck-sponsored teams at benefit swim events. Merck
will kick off its participation at the first 2018 Swim Across
America event to be held in Tampa, Florida.
“Merck is committed to advancing research and to giving more
families hope in the fight against cancer, and we know that that
progress can only come from many people and organizations doing
their part,” said Jill DeSimone, senior vice president, U.S.
Oncology, Merck. “Swim Across America has created a program that
has inspired thousands of Americans, including many Merck
employees, to participate in their benefit swims with the proceeds
funding cancer research and clinical trials. We know this
contribution will help them do even more to fight cancer.”
Since its inception, Swim Across America has granted $70 million
toward cancer research. Additionally, more than 100 Olympians have
donated their time attending Swim Across America benefit swims and
hospital visits.
“I was at our first swim when we raised $5,000,” said Craig
Beardsley, a 1980 Olympian and Swim Across America supporter of 30
years. “The Swim Across America mission is a testimony to the human
spirit of coming together to try to solve a problem that has
affected nearly everyone. Merck’s contribution is going to allow us
to speed up our ability to add more swims so we can fund even more
research projects.”
Swim Across America currently hosts benefit swims in Atlanta;
Baltimore; Boston; Charlotte, NC; Chicago; Dallas; Denver;
Greenwich, Conn.; Kiawah, SC; Long Island, NY; Nantucket, Mass.;
Rhode Island; San Francisco; Seattle; St. Louis and Tampa, Fla.
Merck’s Focus on Cancer
Our goal is to translate breakthrough science into innovative
oncology medicines to help people with cancer worldwide. At Merck,
helping people fight cancer is our passion and supporting
accessibility to our cancer medicines is our commitment. Our focus
is on pursuing research in immuno-oncology and we are accelerating
every step in the journey – from lab to clinic – to potentially
bring new hope to people with cancer. For more information about
our oncology clinical trials, visit
www.merck.com/clinicaltrials.
About Merck
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global
biopharmaceutical company known as MSD outside of the United States
and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines
and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases.
Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies
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 health care
through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today,
Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to advance the
prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and
communities around the world - including cancer, cardio-metabolic
diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and
infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola. For more information,
visit www.merck.com and connect with us
on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc.,
Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J.,
USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s
management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline products that
the products will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or
that they will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying
assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize,
actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general
industry conditions and competition; general economic factors,
including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations;
the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care
legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends
toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new
products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent
in new product development, including obtaining regulatory
approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market
conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial
instability of international economies and sovereign risk;
dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other
protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory
actions.
The company 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 the company’s 2016
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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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171012006092/en/
For Merck:Claire Mulhearn, 908-200-1889orTracy Ogden,
908-740-1747
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