<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001104659-25-054621.txt : 20250530
<SEC-HEADER>0001104659-25-054621.hdr.sgml : 20250530
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20250530095639
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001104659-25-054621
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	SD
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		2
<RULE>
<RULE-NAME>13p-1
<ITEM>
<ITEM-NUMBER>1.01
<ITEM-PERIOD>20241231
</ITEM>
<ITEM>
<ITEM-NUMBER>1.02
<ITEM-PERIOD>20241231
</ITEM>
</RULE>
FILED AS OF DATE:		20250530
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20250530

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Merck & Co., Inc.
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000310158
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS [2834]
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	03 Life Sciences
		EIN:				221918501
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			NJ
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		SD
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	001-06571
		FILM NUMBER:		251007414

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		126 EAST LINCOLN AVENUE
		STREET 2:		P.O. BOX 2000
		CITY:			RAHWAY
		STATE:			NJ
		ZIP:			07065
		BUSINESS PHONE:		908-740-4000

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		126 EAST LINCOLN AVENUE
		STREET 2:		P.O. BOX 2000
		CITY:			RAHWAY
		STATE:			NJ
		ZIP:			07065

	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
</SEC-HEADER>
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<TYPE>SD
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>tm2515985d1_sd.htm
<DESCRIPTION>FORM SD
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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center"><B>UNITED STATES</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center"><B>SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION<BR>
Washington, D.C. 20549</B></P>

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

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

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

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 14pt"><B>Merck &amp; Co.,
Inc.</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center">(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 0.95in">&nbsp;</P>

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  <TD STYLE="text-align: center; width: 50%"><B>New Jersey</B></TD>
  <TD STYLE="text-align: center; width: 50%"><B>1-6571</B></TD></TR>
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<TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
  <TD STYLE="text-align: center; width: 50%">(State or other jurisdiction of <BR>
incorporation or organization)</TD>
  <TD STYLE="text-align: center; width: 50%">(Commission File Number) </TD></TR>
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  <TD STYLE="text-align: center; width: 50%"><B>126 East Lincoln Avenue, Rahway, NJ</B></TD>
  <TD STYLE="text-align: center; width: 50%"><B>07065</B></TD></TR>
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  <TD STYLE="text-align: center; width: 50%">(Address of principal executive offices)</TD>
  <TD STYLE="text-align: center; width: 50%">(Zip Code)</TD></TR>
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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><B>Jennifer
Zachary<BR>
Executive Vice President and General Counsel<BR>
908-740-4000<BR>
</B></FONT>(Name and telephone number, including area code, of the person to contact in connection with this report.)</P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">Check the appropriate box to indicate the rule pursuant to which this
form is being filed:</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.1in">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.1in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings">&#120;</FONT>
Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13p-1) for the reporting period from January 1 to December 31, 2024.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.1in">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.1in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings">&#168;</FONT>
Rule 13q-1 under the Securities Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13q-1) for the fiscal year ended ___</P>




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

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

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Section 1 - Conflict Minerals Disclosure</B></P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 2in 0pt 0"><B>Items 1.01 and 1.02 Conflict Minerals Disclosure and Report,
Exhibit Conflict Minerals Disclosure</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 2in 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify">A copy of Merck &amp; Co., Inc.&rsquo;s (&ldquo;Merck&rsquo;s&rdquo;
or the &ldquo;Company&rsquo;s&rdquo;) Conflict Minerals Report for the reporting period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 is filed
as Exhibit 1.01 hereto and is publicly available at:</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 0.5in">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 0.5in">https://www.merck.com/company-overview/responsibility/transparency-disclosures/
<SUP>1</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 0.5in">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Section 2 &ndash; Resource Extraction Issuer Disclosure</B></P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Item 2.01 Resource Extraction Issuer Disclosure and Report</B></P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">Not applicable.</P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Section 3 &ndash; Exhibits</B></P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Item 3.01 Exhibits</B></P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><A HREF="tm2515985d1_ex1-01.htm">Exhibit 1.01 &ndash; Conflict Minerals Report for the reporting period January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.</A></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"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><SUP>1</SUP></FONT>
The reference to Merck&rsquo;s website is provided for convenience only, and its contents are not incorporated by reference into this
Form SD and the Conflict Minerals Report nor deemed filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.</P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>CAUTIONARY FACTORS THAT MAY AFFECT FUTURE RESULTS</B></P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify"><I>This Specialized Disclosure Report on Form
SD and the Conflict Minerals Report filed as an exhibit hereto may contain so-called &ldquo;forward-looking statements,&rdquo; all of
which are based on management&rsquo;s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties which may cause results to differ
materially from those set forth in the statements. One can identify these forward-looking statements by their use of words such as &ldquo;anticipates,&rdquo;
 &ldquo;expects,&rdquo; &ldquo;plans,&rdquo; &ldquo;will,&rdquo; &ldquo;estimates,&rdquo; &ldquo;forecasts,&rdquo; &ldquo;projects&rdquo;
and other words of similar meaning. One can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.
Forward-looking statements include, for example, statements about our expectations, intentions and plans to improve our due diligence
and risk mitigation strategies related to any Conflict Minerals used in our manufacture or contract to manufacture activities. One must
carefully consider any such statement and should understand that many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the
Company&rsquo;s forward-looking statements. These factors include inaccurate assumptions and a broad variety of other risks and uncertainties,
including some that are known and some that are not. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary
materially.</I></P>




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

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify"><I>The Company does not assume the obligation
to update any forward-looking statement. One should carefully evaluate such statements in light of factors, including risk factors, described
in the Company&rsquo;s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. In Item 1A, &ldquo;Risk
Factors&rdquo; of the Company&rsquo;s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed on February 25, 2025,
the Company discusses in more detail various important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from expected or historic
results. The Company notes these factors for investors as permitted by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. One should
understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Consequently, the reader should not consider any such list
to be a complete statement of all potential risks or uncertainties.</I></P>

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

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

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0.05in 0pt 0; text-align: justify">Pursuant to the requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the duly authorized undersigned.</P>

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    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">MERCK &amp; CO., INC.</TD></TR>
  <TR STYLE="vertical-align: bottom">
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD COLSPAN="2" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">&nbsp;</TD></TR>
  <TR STYLE="vertical-align: bottom">
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033; width: 50%">Dated: May 30, 2025</TD>
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033; width: 5%">By:</TD>
    <TD STYLE="border-bottom: Black 1pt solid; font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033; width: 45%">/s/ Richard Robert
    De Luca</TD></TR>
  <TR STYLE="vertical-align: bottom">
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">Name:</TD>
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033"> Richard Robert De Luca</TD></TR>
  <TR STYLE="vertical-align: bottom">
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">Title:</TD>
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">Executive Vice President</TD></TR>
  <TR STYLE="vertical-align: bottom">
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; color: #000033">Merck Animal Health Division</TD></TR>
  </TABLE>


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<TYPE>EX-1.01
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<DESCRIPTION>EXHIBIT 1.01
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<P STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0.05in 0pt 0; text-align: right"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Exhibit
1.01</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>CONFLICT MINERALS
REPORT<BR>
FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2024</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Part I: Introduction</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">This
document constitutes Merck &amp; Co., Inc.&rsquo;s Conflict Minerals Report (the &ldquo;Report&rdquo; or &ldquo;CMR&rdquo;) for the year
ended December 31, 2024. We have prepared this Report and are issuing it in accordance with the requirements of Rule 13p-1 under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and in connection with Merck &amp; Co., Inc.&rsquo;s disclosure filed on the specialized
disclosure form (&ldquo;Form SD&rdquo;). Any references to &ldquo;Merck,&rdquo; the &ldquo;Company,&rdquo; &ldquo;we,&rdquo; &ldquo;us,&rdquo;
and &ldquo;our&rdquo; refer to Merck &amp; Co., Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">The U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (&ldquo;SEC&rdquo;) has issued rules implementing the &ldquo;Conflict Minerals&rdquo; disclosure requirements
of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the &ldquo;SEC Conflict Minerals Reporting Rule&rdquo; or the &ldquo;Rule&rdquo;).
If an SEC registrant manufactures (or contracts to have manufactured) products containing columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite,
gold, wolframite or their derivatives, which are limited to tantalum, tin and tungsten (collectively, &ldquo;3TG&rdquo; or &ldquo;Conflict
Minerals&rdquo;), and the 3TG is necessary to such products&rsquo; functionality or production, the Rule requires that registrant to
undertake a Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry (&ldquo;RCOI&rdquo;).</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">If, as
a result of the RCOI, the Company knows or has reason to believe that any 3TG contained in such products originated in the Democratic
Republic of Congo or an adjoining country as defined in the Rule (the &ldquo;Covered Countries&rdquo;), and is not from recycled or scrap
sources, the registrant must exercise due diligence on the source and chain of custody of such minerals. Specifically, registrants must
determine whether: (a) any 3TG that is necessary to the functionality or production of a product manufactured or contracted to be manufactured
by the registrant originated in the Covered Countries; and (b) any such 3TG directly or indirectly financed or benefitted armed groups
in the Covered Countries.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Overview</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Merck is a global
health care company that delivers innovative health solutions through its prescription medicines, including biologic therapies, vaccines
and animal health products. The Company&rsquo;s operations are principally managed on a product basis and include two operating segments,
Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments, both of which are reportable segments.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">The Pharmaceutical
segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products. Human health pharmaceutical products consist of therapeutic and preventive
agents, generally sold by prescription, for the treatment of human disorders. The Company sells these human health pharmaceutical products
primarily to drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies and managed health care providers such as health maintenance
organizations, pharmacy benefit managers and other institutions. Human health vaccine products consist of preventive pediatric, adolescent
and adult vaccines. The Company sells these human health vaccines primarily to physicians, wholesalers, physician distributors and government
entities.</FONT></P>

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

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

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">The
Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of veterinary pharmaceutical and vaccine products,
as well as health management solutions and services, for the prevention, treatment and control of disease in all major livestock and
companion animal species. The Animal Health segment also offers an extensive suite of digitally connected identification, traceability,
and monitoring products. These technology products (collectively referred to as Technology Solutions (&ldquo;TS&rdquo;) products) are
designed to improve the quality of life of animals, protect the human food chain, and assist in aquaculture conservation efforts. The
Company sells TS products to veterinarians, distributors, farmers and pet owners. TS&rsquo;s suite of products is largely digital, meaning
that such products involve a greater potential use of 3TG.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Merck
has thousands of direct material suppliers and an extensive internal and external network of manufacturing sites around the world. Given
the size and complexity of Merck&rsquo;s supply chain, Merck is several tiers removed from smelters/refiners and has no direct business
relationship with them. As a result, Merck must rely on its direct material suppliers to provide information on their upstream supplier
sourcing; this includes country of origin determinations for Conflict Minerals that may go into the materials or product provided by
those direct material suppliers to Merck. In addition, the amount of reliable information available globally on the traceability and
sourcing of Conflict Minerals is limited, which presents another challenge to our ability to precisely track any Conflict Minerals back
to their source and origin, thereby making us more reliant on the information provided by our direct material suppliers and industrial
initiatives such as the Responsible Materials Initiative (&ldquo;RMI&rdquo;).</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Our Conflict Minerals
Policy</B>&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Merck
has established a Conflict Minerals Policy governing its position and commitment on managing the use of Conflict Minerals in its supply
chain.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Our
Conflict Minerals Public Policy Statement can be found on our website:&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><FONT STYLE="font-weight: normal"><U>https://www.merck.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/124/2020/04/Conflict-Minerals_MRK_DEC23.pdf</U></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Our
Scoping Assessment</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Merck
continuously engages in scoping assessment activities to determine which materials and products in our supply chain may contain any Conflict
Minerals that may be necessary to the functionality or production of our products, including those made by contract manufacturers or
that Merck manufactures along with its joint ventures. Consistent with the Company&rsquo;s Conflict Minerals Report filed in 2024, Merck
has determined that none of our Pharmaceutical or Animal Health medicines, vaccines or biologic products contains 3TG.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Merck
does, however, have reason to believe that 3TG may be necessary to the functionality or production of certain TS products, including
electronic identification and monitoring tags and collars for livestock, companion animals, and aquaculture. Merck also believes that
3TG may be necessary to the functionality or production of a small number of its product delivery systems and ancillary devices to support
the use of certain of our prescription medicines, vaccines and biological products. The products for which Merck believes 3TG may be
necessary to the functionality or production are referred to herein as our &ldquo;in-scope products.&rdquo; Merck has taken the actions
described in Part II and conducted a RCOI of these in-scope products.</FONT></P>

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

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

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

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Part II. Reasonable Country
of Origin Inquiry</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">For
the 2024 reporting period, Merck retained Assent Compliance Inc. (&ldquo;Assent&rdquo;), a well-known and well-respected third-party
vendor, who used the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (&ldquo;CMRT&rdquo;) published by the RMI for the RCOI survey to obtain countries
of origin information for any Conflict Mineral smelters/refiners that may exist upstream in our supply chain. Merck, with the assistance
of Assent, performed a Conflict Minerals applicability scoping assessment to determine which of our suppliers sell products to Merck
that may contain 3TG in their materials or products, or for which 3TG is necessary to the functionality or production of the materials
or products.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify">For the 2024 reporting period,
our scoping assessment confirmed that approximately 220 direct material suppliers (including contract manufacturers) were in scope for
the 2024 RCOI survey. Accordingly, via Assent, we sent the RCOI survey to these suppliers and requested that they identify the smelters/refiners
and countries of origin of the Conflict Minerals in products or materials they supply to us.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 5.6pt 0pt 5.65pt; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Each
direct material supplier received an introductory email that provided the supplier with information on the SEC Conflict Minerals Reporting
Rule and the reasons for contacting them. The suppliers were also provided with information on how to complete the CMRT. Following the
initial survey request, reminder emails were sent asking suppliers to complete the RCOI survey.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">We received
responses from 92 direct material suppliers that were in the RCOI survey. Of these, 49 stated that some 3TG is used in their materials
or products or is necessary to the functionality or production of the materials or products purchased by Merck. 49 of the direct material
suppliers who responded to our survey identified specific smelters or refiners. Based on the RCOI survey responses received and subsequent
smelter/refiner information verification, we have reason to believe that some smelters/refiners identified by our direct material suppliers
may be sourcing 3TG from the Covered Countries and that the 3TG does not completely come from recycled or scrap sources; however, we
cannot be certain that the identified smelters and refiners supplied 3TG for parts and components supplied to Merck rather than to other
customers, and we are continuing to conduct due diligence activities, as described further in Part VI below.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Part III. Design of Conflict
Minerals Program</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">We have
designed our due diligence process to conform, in all material respects, with the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development&rsquo;s
Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (&ldquo;OECD Guidance&rdquo;),
and related supplements for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. Summarized below are the design components of our Conflict Minerals program
as they relate to the five-step framework from the OECD Guidance.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0.05in 0pt 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>OECD Step 1: Establish
strong company management systems</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 22.5pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Conflict
Minerals Policy: </B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">We have an established Conflict Minerals Public Policy Statement. It is posted
on our Company website.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0.05in 0pt 0"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Conflict
Minerals Expectations</B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">: We define and communicate our expectations for the responsible sourcing
of minerals in our Company&rsquo;s Business Partner Code of Conduct. All business partners that engage in the manufacture of our products
or that supply direct materials are expected to maintain procedures to ensure the responsible sourcing of minerals.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Conflict
Minerals Team: </B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">We maintain a cross-functional team consisting of Compliance, Legal, and Global
Supplier Management that supervises and manages our Conflict Minerals program. We also engage the services of Assent to support the implementation
of our program. This team provides program updates to senior management of Global Supplier Management and the Animal Health Division.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Conflict
Minerals Training: </B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">We train internal staff that have responsibility for sourcing direct materials
on the processes and procedures that must be followed when sourcing materials, including those that may potentially contain Conflict
Minerals.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Conflict
Minerals Information: </B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Through Assent, we provide information and training materials on Conflict
Minerals to direct materials suppliers identified as in-scope to receive a supply chain survey to help inform and educate them.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Conflict
Minerals Control System: </B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">We maintain a Conflict Minerals program that is linked to our supplier
sourcing decision-making process. We apply a conflict minerals supply chain system of controls and transparency through the use of the
CMRT, to identify the smelters/refiners that process the necessary Conflict Minerals potentially contained in our products.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Conflict
Minerals Recordkeeping: </B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">We keep business records that relate to our Conflict Minerals program,
including the results of RCOI surveys and smelter/refiner due diligence activities, and retain them for at least five years.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Conflict
Minerals Contract Clause: </B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">There is a Conflict Minerals compliance clause in our contract templates
used with direct material suppliers whose materials or products are known to contain Conflict Minerals and for which Conflict Minerals
are necessary to the functionality or production of the products. This clause obligates direct material suppliers to use reasonable endeavors
to avoid the use or inclusion of Conflict Minerals in products they supply to us.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Grievance
Mechanism: </B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">We maintain a mechanism to allow employees, suppliers, business partners and other
stakeholders to report concerns, including those that relate to our Conflict Minerals program. Concerns may be reported confidentially
and anonymously at msdethics.com.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>OECD Step 2: Identify and assess
risks in our supply chain</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Identify</B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">:
We identify all direct material suppliers, including contract manufacturers and joint venture partners that supply materials and products
to our Company which may potentially contain Conflict Minerals and that are considered in-scope.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Survey</B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">:
For all direct material suppliers whose materials or products are considered likely to contain Conflict Minerals and for which Conflict
Minerals are necessary to the production or functionality of the materials or products, we survey (via Assent) these suppliers using
the CMRT developed by RMI, requesting them to identify smelters/refiners and countries of origin of the Conflict Minerals in the materials
and products they provide to us.</FONT></P>




<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.35in; text-align: justify"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.35in; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.35in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Follow-Up</B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">:
When direct material suppliers fail to provide complete and consistent responses to our RCOI survey request in a timely manner, we (via
Assent) follow up to obtain the requested information. We (via Assent) sent as many as seven follow-up communications over a period of
five months to each supplier that had not responded throughout the duration of the campaign, and our standard TS supplier template agreement
requires responses from suppliers with whom we engage.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.35in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Compare
and Research</B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">: Upon receipt of the RCOI survey response, we (via Assent) compare each supplier&rsquo;s
reported list of smelters/refiners against the list of facilities that have received &ldquo;conformant&rdquo; or &ldquo;confirmed&rdquo;
designation from the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (&ldquo;RMAP&rdquo;) or other independent third-party audit programs to identify
their &ldquo;conflict-free&rdquo; status. We rely on RMI data to ascertain the countries of origin of the Conflict Minerals processed
by these facilities and, additionally, we leverage the research capabilities of a third-party service provider to attempt to identify
the countries of origin for supplier identified smelters/refiners that are not disclosed by the RMI.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="text-align: justify; font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.35in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Document</B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">:
At the conclusion of the process, we document the smelters/refiners and related countries of origin information for supplier identified
smelters/refiners.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>OECD Step 3: Execute a strategy to
respond to identified risks</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.35in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Our
Conflict Minerals Team meets with relevant business sourcing managers to discuss and agree upon the actions Merck will take to maintain
supplier compliance with our Conflict Minerals Policy. Our risk mitigation efforts are specifically related to our Conflict Minerals
Policy, with the goal of bringing each surveyed supplier into compliance with our requirements.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>OECD Step 4: Carry out independent
third-party audits</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.35in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Merck
relies on the independent third-party audits of smelters/refiners that are conducted as part of the RMAP, which evaluates the procurement
practices of smelters and refiners that process and provide Conflict Minerals to our supply chain.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>OECD Step 5: Report annually on Supply
Chain Due Diligence</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.35in"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Merck reports its annual
Conflict Minerals due diligence results to the SEC and makes the report available on the Company website at</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.55in"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">https://www.merck.com/company-overview/responsibility/transparency-disclosures/.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; padding-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.35in"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">The information on this
website is not incorporated by reference into this CMR and does not constitute a part of this CMR.</FONT></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0.05in 0pt 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Part IV: Due Diligence
Performed</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>&nbsp;</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Below is a summary of the
due diligence activities Merck performed for this reporting period, including activities performed by Assent:</FONT></P>

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

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Issued
                                            requests to all in-scope suppliers to complete/return a CMRT to obtain smelter/refiner and
                                            countries of origin information for the materials/products they provided to Merck in 2024.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Performed
                                            verification activities to determine if any of the smelters/refiners disclosed by suppliers
                                            are Conflict Minerals processing facilities, using the Standard Smelter List published by
                                            RMI.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.75in"></TD><TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt">&#9702;</FONT></TD><TD STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Where
                                            a supplier-identified smelter/refiner was confirmed as a Conflict Minerals processing facility,
                                            we evaluated whether that smelter/refiner was certified as &ldquo;conformant&rdquo; or &ldquo;active&rdquo;
                                            using the RMAP, or other equivalent validation program.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Contacted
                                            surveyed suppliers on responses to supply chain surveys that we identified as having incomplete
                                            or potentially inaccurate information to seek additional clarifying information.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Monitored
                                            and tracked surveyed suppliers to determine their progress in meeting our Company&rsquo;s
                                            Conflict Minerals reporting requirements.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Contacted
                                            suppliers that did not respond to our supply chain survey request and asked them to provide
                                            an updated CMRT.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

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<TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Participated
                                            in an outreach program to smelters and refiner facilities not currently enrolled in the RMAP
                                            to encourage their participation.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

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<TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Reported
                                            on the status of our Conflict Minerals program to senior management in our Global Supplier
                                            Management Group and Animal Health Division.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

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<TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 10pt; width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD STYLE="padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Provided
                                            Conflict Minerals training to new internal sourcing professionals involved in direct material
                                            sourcing activities.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B></B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Part V: Results of Due Diligence</B></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">During this
reporting period, we confirmed that none of our Pharmaceutical or Animal Health medicines, vaccines or biologic products contains any
3TG; however, Merck does have reason to believe 3TG may be necessary to the functionality or production of certain TS products as well
as a small number of its product delivery systems and ancillary devices to support the use of certain of our pharmaceutical and animal
medicines, vaccines and biological products.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0.05in; text-align: justify"></P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify">Merck cannot at this time draw
any definitive conclusions about the countries of origin for, or the conformant status of, all identified smelters/refiners that may be
necessary to its in-scope products&rsquo; functionality or production. The majority of the smelters/refiners identified by our suppliers
were at company- level of their upstream suppliers and, therefore, potentially not relevant to the materials or products they supply to
us. Because of the over-reporting nature of the industry CMRT information collection process, and the nature of the supply chains and
goods, we are unable to confirm if any smelter is or was active in our supply chain. Merck is in communication with suppliers to confirm
that they make efforts to improve due diligence and transparency in their supply chain.</P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify">Although some or all of the information below
may not be relevant to any Merck product, Merck has chosen to aggregate the smelter/refiner data and report it for the reasons noted above.</P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Our efforts
to determine the countries of origin for supplier identified smelters/refiners is, as described in this report, reliant on the &ldquo;conformant&rdquo;
smelter/refiner information provided by RMI.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"></FONT></P>

<TABLE CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="0" STYLE="width: 80%; font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; border-collapse: collapse">
  <TR>
    <TD STYLE="border: Black 1pt solid; width: 40%; padding-top: 10pt; padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Total
    Number of Smelters/<BR>
    Refiners Identified By our<BR>
    Direct Material Suppliers</B></FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="border-top: Black 1pt solid; border-right: Black 1pt solid; border-bottom: Black 1pt solid; vertical-align: top; width: 29%; padding-top: 10pt; padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Number
    of<BR>
    Confirmed Smelters/<BR>
    Refiners</B></FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="border-top: Black 1pt solid; border-right: Black 1pt solid; border-bottom: Black 1pt solid; vertical-align: top; width: 31%; padding-top: 10pt; padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>Number
    of<BR>
    &ldquo;Conformant&rdquo;<BR>
    Smelters/Refiners</B></FONT></TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD STYLE="border-right: Black 1pt solid; border-bottom: Black 1pt solid; border-left: Black 1pt solid; padding-top: 10pt; padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>367</B></FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="border-right: Black 1pt solid; border-bottom: Black 1pt solid; padding-top: 10pt; padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>367</B></FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="border-right: Black 1pt solid; border-bottom: Black 1pt solid; padding-top: 10pt; padding-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>232</B></FONT></TD></TR>
  </TABLE>
<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5.95pt"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><I>Notes:&nbsp;</I></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="text-align: justify; font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.05in"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><I>&ldquo;Confirmed&rdquo;
means smelters/refiners appear on the Standard Smelter List of the RMI&rsquo;s CMRT. &ldquo;Conformant&rdquo; means smelters/refiners
are conformant with the RMAP assessment protocols. The compliance status reflected in the table is based solely on information published
by RMI.</I>&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><B>Part VI: Future Due Diligence Measures</B>&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 14pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Merck is continuing
to execute the activities described in Part III &ldquo;Design of Conflict Minerals Program&rdquo; and Part IV &ldquo;Due Diligence Performed&rdquo;
for the next reporting period.</FONT></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"></P>

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

<P STYLE="font: bold 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify"><B>Appendix I: Country
of Origin Information</B></P>

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

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify">The countries of origin of the
Conflict Minerals processed by the smelters/refiners identified by our suppliers may have included the countries listed below, based on
information provided by the RMI to its members for the &ldquo;conformant&rdquo; smelters/refiners and our independent research of all
other smelters/refiners disclosed. Because the RMI generally does not indicate individual country of origin of the Conflict Minerals processed
by &ldquo;conformant&rdquo; smelters/refiners, we were not able to determine the countries of origin of the Conflict Minerals processed
by the &ldquo;conformant&rdquo; smelters/ refiners with greater specificity. In addition, for some of the &ldquo;conformant&rdquo; smelters/refiners,
the country-of-origin information is not disclosed by RMI. Merck conducts no direct transactions and has no contractual relationships
with these smelters and refiner facilities nor their sources of ore</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 7.45pt 0pt 5.65pt; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="0" STYLE="width: 100%; font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; border-collapse: collapse">
  <TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
    <TD STYLE="border: black 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 5pt; width: 100%; padding-left: 2pt">
    <P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 1.85pt 0pt 3.35pt; text-align: justify"><B>L1 - Level 1 countries that
    are not identified as conflict regions or plausible areas of smuggling or export from the DRC and its nine adjoining countries.</B></P>
    <P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>
    <P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 1.25pt 0pt 3.35pt; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt">Albania,
    Andora, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina
    Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus Djibouti, Dominica,, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, , Estonia,
    Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia,
    Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jersey, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, , Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
    Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway,
    Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Rwanda, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone,
    Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Turkey,
    United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, , Vietnam and
    Zimbabwe.</FONT></P></TD></TR>
  <TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
    <TD STYLE="border-right: black 1pt solid; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 5pt; padding-left: 2pt; font-size: 10pt"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>L2 - Level 2 countries that are known or plausible countries for smuggling, exporting out of region or transit of materials containing tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold: </B></FONT><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Mozambique and South Africa.</FONT></TD></TR>
  <TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
    <TD STYLE="border-right: black 1pt solid; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 5pt; padding-left: 2pt; font-size: 10pt"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>CC &ndash; Covered Countries are the countries adjoining the Democratic Republic of Congo:</B></FONT> <FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.</FONT></TD></TR>
  <TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
    <TD STYLE="border-right: black 1pt solid; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 5pt; padding-left: 2pt; font-size: 10pt"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt"><B>DRC</B></FONT> <FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">- The Democratic Republic of the Congo.</FONT></TD></TR>
  </TABLE>
<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

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