<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001214659-23-005236.txt : 20230412
<SEC-HEADER>0001214659-23-005236.hdr.sgml : 20230412
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20230412085801
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001214659-23-005236
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	PX14A6G
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20230412
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20230412
EFFECTIVENESS DATE:		20230412

SUBJECT COMPANY:	

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Merck & Co., Inc.
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000310158
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS [2834]
		IRS NUMBER:				221918501
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			NJ
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		PX14A6G
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	001-06571
		FILM NUMBER:		23814735

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		2000 GALLOPING HILL ROAD
		CITY:			KENILWORTH
		STATE:			NJ
		ZIP:			07033
		BUSINESS PHONE:		908-740-4000

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		2000 GALLOPING HILL ROAD
		CITY:			KENILWORTH
		STATE:			NJ
		ZIP:			07033

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	Merck & Co. Inc.
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	20091103

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	SCHERING PLOUGH CORP
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19920703

FILED BY:		

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Seventh Generation Interfaith Inc.
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001773705
		IRS NUMBER:				475298655
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			WI
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		PX14A6G

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1015 N. NINTH ST.
		CITY:			MILWAUKEE
		STATE:			WI
		ZIP:			53233
		BUSINESS PHONE:		708-315-0571

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1015 N. NINTH ST.
		CITY:			MILWAUKEE
		STATE:			WI
		ZIP:			53233
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<P STYLE="margin: 0"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center"><B>United States Securities and Exchange Commission</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center"><B>Washington, DC 20549</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center"><B>NOTICE OF EXEMPT SOLICITATION</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify"><B>NAME OF REGISTRANT:&nbsp;</B>Merck &amp; Co.,
Inc</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify"><B>NAME OF PERSONS RELYING ON EXEMPTION:</B>&nbsp;Province
of Saint Joseph of the Capuchin Order</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify"><B>ADDRESS OF PERSON RELYING ON EXEMPTION:&nbsp;</B>1820
Mount Elliott Street, Detroit, MI 48207</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify"><B>WRITTEN MATERIALS</B>: The attached written
materials are submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-6(g)(1) (the &#8220;Rule&#8221;) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Submission
is not required of this filer under the terms of the Rule, but is made voluntarily in the interest of public disclosure and consideration
of these important issues.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>11 April 2023</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Dear Fellow Merck &amp; Co. Shareholder,</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">The Province of Saint Joseph of the Capuchin Order
write to urge you to vote <B>FOR PROPOSAL 8, </B>&#8220;Shareholder Proposal- to issue a report on Patent Process&#8221; (the &#8220;Proposal&#8221;)
at Merck &amp; Co.&#8217;s (&#8220;Merck&#8221; or &#8220;the Company&#8221;) Annual General Meeting on May 23rd, 2023.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>



<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify"></P>

<DIV STYLE="padding: 6pt; border: Black 1pt solid">

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>RESOLVED</B>: that Shareholders of Merck &amp;
    Co., Inc. (&#8220;Merck&#8221;) ask the Board of Directors to establish and report on a process by which the impact of extended patent
    exclusivities on product access would be considered in deciding whether to apply for secondary and tertiary patents. Secondary and tertiary
    patents are patents applied for after the main ingredient/molecule patent(s) and which relate to the product. The report on the process
    should be prepared at reasonable cost, omitting confidential and proprietary information, and published on Merck&#8217;s website</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

</DIV>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>Proposal 8- Patents and Access</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">The Proposal asks the Company to adopt and report
on a process (the &#8220;Process&#8221;) by which the impact on patient access to medicines is considered when deciding whether to apply
for secondary or tertiary patents.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><U>We believe that the Process would be beneficial
to Merck because extended exclusivity periods gained from secondary patents, and the resulting delay in generic entry, limit patient access,
create regulatory and reputational risk, and saddle the health care system with unsustainable costs</U>.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>Are Your Prescription Drugs Affordable?</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Prescription drugs have assumed an increasingly important
role in American health care, and that trend is likely to continue: One study estimates that &#8220;[p]rescription drug spending on retail
and non-retail drugs is poised to grow 63% from 2020 to 2030, reaching $917 billion dollars.&#8221;<SUP>1</SUP> Prescription drugs&#8212;and
branded specialty medicines in particular&#8212;are costly in the U.S. The rise in spending on prescription drugs outpaces increases in
health care spending more generally,<SUP>2</SUP> and 3 in 10 Americans on a prescription drug, report not taking their medicine as prescribed
due to cost.<SUP>3</SUP> A poll asking respondents to identify their top priority issue appearing in the Build Back Better bill found
that allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices topped the list.<SUP>4</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; color: #A6A6A6; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>1</SUP> <FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">https://www.i-mak.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Overpatented-Overpriced-2022-FINAL.pdf,
at 2 (citing Charles Roehrig and Ani Turner, Projections of the Non-Retail Prescription Drug Share of National Health Expenditures Report,
Altarum, July 2022).</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>2</SUP> https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46221.pdf,
at 2.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>3</SUP> https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/public-opinion-on-prescription-drugs-and-their-prices/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>4</SUP> https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/01/drug-price-negotiation-poll-harvard-514831</P>



<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; color: #A6A6A6; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; color: #A6A6A6; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; color: #A6A6A6; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify">Federal law tries to strike a balance between
incentivizing innovation and promoting affordability. Obtaining a patent for a new drug gives the manufacturer a period of exclusive marketing
rights, generally for 20 years.<SUP>5</SUP> Once the patent expires, manufacturers are free to make generic versions of the drug&#8212;or
in the case of a biologic, a biosimilar version&#8212;which drives down prices.<SUP>6</SUP> An academic commentator described the balance
struck by this regulatory regime:</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; color: #1E1E1E">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 0.5in; text-align: left; color: #1E1E1E">On the one hand, originators
play an important role in developing new and improved medicines for the benefit of society. On the other hand, generic companies benefit
society by supplying cheaper equivalents of the originators&#8217; medicines, which leads to the reduction of drug prices and facilitates
access to affordable medicines. When the interests of these two players are kept in balance, benefits are maximized for society, which
receives innovative and improved medicines, as well as timely access to generic drugs.<SUP>7</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>Innovation versus Competitive Pricing</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">We believe that balance now places patients at a
significant disadvantage. Given the high prices their drugs command absent competition, branded drug makers have strong incentives to
delay generic competition as long as possible. One strategy they use is creating so-called &#8220;patent thickets,&#8221; numerous overlapping
patents on a drug filed after the primary patent has been granted and the drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (&#8220;FDA&#8221;)
that would be expensive and time-consuming for a potential generic manufacturer to challenge.<SUP>8</SUP> This strategy can allow branded
drug makers to hold off generic (or biosimilar, in the case of a biologic medicine) competition for several years or more.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left">These later-filed patents, which are referred to
as secondary and tertiary<SUP>9</SUP> patents, relate to properties of the drug other than the active ingredient, such as methods of administration,
manufacturing processes, dosing regimens, and additional indications.<SUP>10</SUP> Critics of the practice argue that secondary patents
tend to be low quality, as they are invalidated in litigation at a higher rate than primary patents, and that they allow drug makers to
benefit from extended exclusivity periods without engaging in additional innovation.<SUP>11</SUP> Merck has filed for 95 secondary patents
on Keytruda, their top selling drug approved for 17 different cancer fighting indications, but beyond the budget of the average patient.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>5</SUP> https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46221.pdf,
at 1.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>6</SUP> <FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">https://www.fda.gov/files/drugs/published/Exclusivity-and-Generic-Drugs--What-Does-It-Mean-.pdf;
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6534750/ (&#8220;<FONT STYLE="background-color: white">Prices can dro<FONT STYLE="color: #212121">p
as much as 20% when the first generic enters the market; with multiple generics, the prices may eventually drop by 80&#8211;85%.&#8221;)</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>7</SUP> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7592140/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>8</SUP> <U>See</U> ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7592140/(&#8220;
<FONT STYLE="color: #1E1E1E">The denser the web of secondary patents, the more difficult it is for generics to develop their generic equivalents,
even if they know that only a few patents of a large portfolio would, in fact, be valid and infringed by their products.&#8221;)</FONT>;
https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46221.pdf, at 1-2.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>9</SUP> A secondary patent relates to
&#8220;<FONT STYLE="background-color: white">peripheral features&#8221; of a drug, <FONT STYLE="color: #6B6B6B">while a </FONT></FONT>tertiary
patent applies to a drug-device combination, such as the EpiPen. https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2018/04/30/tertiary-patents-an-emerging-phenomenon/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>10</SUP> https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46221.pdf,
at 9.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>11</SUP> <FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">E.g.</FONT><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">,
Editorial Board, &#8220;Save America&#8217;s Patent System,&#8221; The New York Times, Apr. 17, 2022 (&#8220;<FONT STYLE="background-color: white">Twelve
of the drugs that Medicare spends the most on are protected by more than 600 patents in total, according to the committee. Many of those
patents contain little that's truly new. But the thickets they create have the potential to extend product monopolies for decades. In
so doing, they promise to add billions to the nation's soaring health care costs -- and to pharmaceutical coffers.&#8221;); https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/high-drug-prices-caused-by-us-patent-system.html;
https://www.i-mak.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/I-MAK-Overpatented-Overpriced-Report.pdf;</FONT> Robin Feldman, &#8220;Our patent system
is broken. And it could be stifling innovation,&#8221; The Washington Post, Aug. 8, 2021</FONT></P>


<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; color: #A6A6A6; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; color: #A6A6A6; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><U>Secondary patents have a significant impact on
health care spending, exacerbating inequalities in access to medicines and straining both public and private sector budgets</U>. One study
analyzed the 12 best-selling drugs, which had been on the market for an average of 15 years, and found large numbers of secondary patents
providing an average exclusivity period of 38 years.<SUP>12</SUP> That study called patent abuse the &#8220;root cause&#8221; of unsustainably
high drug prices.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Another study by the same organization found &#8220;questionable
&#8211; and likely unmerited&#8221; secondary patents on three blockbuster drugs and estimated that the U.S. healthcare system would bear
approximately $55 billion in excess costs for those three drugs during the extended exclusivity periods facilitated by the drugs&#8217;
secondary patents.<SUP>13</SUP> Studies show that the introduction of generic versions of a drug results in significantly lower prices.<SUP>14</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>The Fight to End Gaming the U.S. Patent System</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">The role of secondary and tertiary patents in keeping
prescription drug prices high has received increasing amounts of media and regulatory scrutiny. For example, the editorial boards of <I>The
New York Times<SUP>15</SUP></I> and <I>USA Today</I> published editorials decrying the proliferation of such patents and their impact
on the health care system. Patent thickets are often depicted as &#8220;gaming&#8221; or &#8220;abusing&#8221; the U.S. patent system.
<SUP>16</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="background-color: white">On February
22nd, 2023, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)
and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) sent a letter to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), urging the agency to give close scrutiny
to any of Merck&#8217;s requests for new patents for Keytruda, a biological treatment used to treat cancer, citing new reports about Merck&#8217;s
ongoing abuse of the patent system to protect its monopoly on the drug.<SUP>17</SUP> Senator Warren and Rep. Jayapal also wrote to the
USPTO in December 2022 regarding their concerns about the pharmaceutical industry&#8217;s broad use of anti-competitive practices that
raise costs for patients and families.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><U>Rising pressures to contain specialty drug costs,
combined with a perception that branded drug firms are engaged in anti-competitive behavior, could lead to increased regulation</U>. Indeed,
President Biden issued an Executive Order (the &#8220;E.O.&#8221;) in 2021 directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to &#8220;promote
generic drug and biosimilar competition.&#8221;<SUP>18</SUP> <FONT STYLE="background-color: white">Pursuant to the E.O., the FDA and Patent
and Trademark Office (&#8220;PTO&#8221;) are collaborating to implement strategies to lower drug prices.<SUP>19</SUP></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>12</SUP>https://www.i-mak.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/I-MAK-Overpatented-Overpriced-Report.pdf</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>13</SUP>https://www.i-mak.org/americas-overspend/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>14</SUP>https://www.fda.gov/media/133509/download,
at 2; https://www.fda.gov/media/161540/download, at 6; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34904207/; https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/105th-congress-1997-1998/reports/pharm.pdf;
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57772</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>15</SUP>https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/16/opinion/patents-reform-drug-prices.html</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>16</SUP> <FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><U>See</U></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">,
<U>e.g.</U>, https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/consumer-group-says-drugmakers-abuse-us-patent-system-keep-prices-high-2022-09-16/;
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/12/perspectives/drug-patents-abuse/index.html; https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-drugs-health-care-pharm-1024-20171023-story.htm;
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/gaming-us-patent-system-keeping-drug-prices-sky-high-report-says-rcna47507</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>17</SUP>https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2023.02.22%20Letter%20to%20USPTO%20re%20Keytruda%20patent1.pdf</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>18</SUP> https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/07/09/executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/,
at section 5(p)(vi).</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>19</SUP> https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/PTO-FDA-nextsteps-7-6-2022.pdf</P>


<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0pt; color: #A6A6A6; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: small-caps 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: normal; background-color: white">The
relationship between extended exclusivity periods and high drug prices is addressed in several bills that have been introduced, as well
as in congressional hearings.<SUP>20</SUP> I</FONT><FONT STYLE="font-variant: normal">n June 2022, a bipartisan group of Senators wrote
to the director of the USPTO about patent thickets. The letter stated: &#8220;In the drug industry, with the most minor, even cosmetic,
tweaks to delivery mechanisms, dosages, and formulations, companies are able to obtain dozens or hundreds of patents for a single drug.
This practice impedes generic drugs&#8217; production, hurts competition, and can even extend exclusivity beyond the congressionally mandated
patent term.&#8221; It closed by asking the USPTO to &#8220;consider changes to your regulations and practices to address [overpatenting]
problems where they start, during examination.&#8221;<SUP>21</SUP></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>Detrimental Impact on Patients</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Pharmaceutical companies argue that secondary and
tertiary patents are necessary to incentivize continued innovation related to a drug. But the Proposal does not seek to prohibit the Company
from applying for secondary and tertiary patents on its medicines, only for the impact on patient access to be part of the mix of considerations.
There is evidence that companies delay marketing an innovation on an existing drug by filing for secondary patents strategically, close
to the primary patent&#8217;s expiration, in order to provide the longest exclusivity extension.<SUP>22</SUP> This timing suggests that
patient benefit is not always the sole motivation for such innovations on approved medicines.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">While Merck has patient access programs and websites
to support access, such programs, while facilitating access for a select group of patients, do not promote affordability more generally,
as the introduction of a generic drug would. Helping a relatively small number of patients does not address systemic issues, such as the
strain placed on the health care system by extended exclusivity periods and the societal impact of undertreatment of disease, which can
include lower labor force participation and productivity, increased social services costs, poorer patient quality of life, and higher
health care costs later on in a patient&#8217;s life when the impact of undertreatment may be more difficult to remedy.<SUP>23</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>20</SUP> <FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><U>See</U>
https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-cassidy-introduce-remedy-act-to-lower-drug-prices-by-curbing-patent-manipulation-promoting-generic-competition#:~:text=The%20REMEDY%20Act%20amends%20FDA,that%20delay%20generic%20market%20entry;
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2873; https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony%20-%20July%2013%202021_Rachel_Moodie.pdf;
https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-judiciary-antitrust-subcommittee-to-hold-hearing-on-anticompetitive; https://energycommerce.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-on-lowering-the-cost-of-prescription-drugs-reducing-barriers-to;
https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/drug-pricing-in-america-a-prescription-for-change-part-i</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>21</SUP> www.leahy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/20220608%20Letter%20to%20PTO%20on%20repetitive%20patents.pdf</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>22</SUP> <U>See</U> ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7592140/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>23</SUP> <FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><U>See</U>,
<U>e.g</U>., https://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Focus-on-Health-Making-Mental-Health-Count.pdf; https://www.lse.ac.uk/business/consulting/assets/documents/the-value-of-early-diagnosis-and-treatment-in-parkinsons-disease.pdf;
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/health-care/economic-cost-of-health-disparities.html; https://www.mathematica.org/news/new-study-uncovers-the-heavy-financial-toll-of-untreated-maternal-mental-health-conditions.</FONT></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0.25in 0pt 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">More generally, reliance on patent thickets may actually
diminish branded drug manufacturers&#8217; incentives to continue developing innovative medicines. If a manufacturer can obtain a longer
period of exclusivity for a top-selling drug, it has a reduced motivation to develop new drugs.<SUP>24</SUP> As one academic study put
it: &#8220;<FONT STYLE="color: #212121; background-color: white">Rather than creating new medicines&#8212;sallying forth into new frontiers
for the benefit of society&#8212;drug companies are focusing their time and effort extending the patent life of old products. This, of
course, is not the innovation one would hope for. The greatest creativity at pharmaceutical companies should be in the lab, not in the
legal department.&#8221;<SUP>25</SUP></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; color: #212121"><FONT STYLE="background-color: white">Finally,
the existence of disclosure on a company&#8217;s pricing and/or access programs is sometimes held up as a reason the Proposal is unnecessary.
Disclosures, standing alone, are insufficient because they do not effect a change in </FONT>process like the one sought by the Proposal.
The process change i<FONT STYLE="background-color: white">s the Proposal&#8217;s core element, and the reporting component is designed
to ensure that shareholders are apprised of Merck&#8217;s adoption of the Process.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">We recognize the value created by pharmaceutical
innovation, and the Proposal would not limit in any way the Company&#8217;s ability to obtain so-called primary patents covering drugs&#8217;
active ingredients or require a particular outcome when the Company analyzes whether to pursue secondary and tertiary patents. The Proposal
simply asks the Company to take the impact on patient access into account when making decisions about applying for such patents. It would
not impose a specific weighting for access considerations, nor would it dictate how access should be measured. The Company would have
total discretion over those and other details.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>We therefore urge shareholders to vote FOR Shareholder
Proposal #8.</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Sincerely,</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Robert Wotypka, OFM Cap.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Corporate Responsibility Agent</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Province of Saint Joseph of the Capuchin Order</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>NOTE: This is not a solicitation of authority
to vote your proxy. Please DO NOT send us your proxy card; The Province of Saint Joseph of the Capuchin Order (POSJ) is not able to vote
your proxies, nor does this communication contemplate such an event. POSJ urges shareholders to vote for Proposal #8 following the instructions
provided on management's proxy mailing.</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>24</SUP> ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7592140/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>25</SUP> <FONT STYLE="color: Black">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6534750/</FONT></P>

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