Merck &Co. Inc.

Merck &Co., Inc., referred to as Merck Sharp & Dohme(MSD) in nations outside North America, is one of the largest pharmaceutical corporations in the world, both by capital and revenue. Amongst other companies such as Johnson&Johnson, Pfizer, and others, Merck &CO. ranks in the top seven of the wealthiest pharmaceutical corporations. Although a very massive pharmaceutical enterprise indeed, the foundation of Merck &Co. was very humble. Merck &Co. can trace its modest roots and origins in the year 1668, when a German apothecary named Frederic Jacob Merck started a chemical firm in the city of Darmstadt, Germany. Two centuries into the future in 1891, George Merck firmly instituted the roots of his ascendant in the United States, and formally established Merck & Co., Inc in New York. In the beginning, Merck&Co was known as a fine chemicals supplier, providing different entities with a variety of chemical substances. It was in the 1930s when Merck &Co. began researching in pharmaceuticals and eventually entered the industry. For several decades since its commencement, Merck has benefited mankind with reliable and original pharmaceutical products which have improved the health of a variety of people, old and young. Merck helps those who are hooked on hamburgers. Drugs treating ailments associated with bad eating habits -- high cholesterol, hypertension, and heart failure -- are among Merck's biggest sellers. Its drugs include hypertension fighters Cozaar and Hyzaar and cholesterol combatants Vytorin, Zetia, and Zocor. Merck makes drugs in a broad range of other therapeutic areas as well: Propecia treats male pattern baldness, Singulair treats asthma, and Fosamax fights osteoporosis. In addition to pharmaceuticals, the company makes childhood and adult vaccines for such diseases as measles, mumps, hepatitis, and shingles. In 2006 Merck was awarded FDA approval for its cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil. Other than medicines, Merck has also contributed more than 480 million dollars to non-profit and education organizations.

I look up to the work that Merck&Co. has done for mankind through the products that it has created. Gardasil, a vaccine for the Human papillomavirus, has prevented probably millions of people around the world from contracting the painful sexually transmitted disease of HPL. Other Merck products such as Zostavax has furthermore prevented elderly people of 60 years and older from contracting shingles. Although a huge and wealthy corporation, Merck&Co. does not only have the objective of gaining more revenue but also has the goal to palliate and mitigate suffering around the world. I also admire that Merck and Co. has provided millions of dollars to education, something that never occured to me at all. Although Merck& Co., Inc. came to being as a small company, it has risen to possess 70,000 employees in 120 countries and 31 factories worldwide. Merck products are furthermore sold in more than 200 countries around the world. I would compare the rise of Merck& Co., Inc. to the expansion of the holy Knights Templar in the crusades in the medieval era. Both organizations started with humble origins but through many centuries and decades, grew into massive institutions.

http://www.merck.com/
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