R&B LEGEND NATALIE COLE JOINS ROCK LEGEND GREGG ALLMAN, MERCK AND
THE AMERICAN LIVER FOUNDATION TO TURN UP THE VOLUME AROUND HEP C

Cole to Perform with The Allman Brothers Band at the Tune In to Hep C Benefit Concert
Tomorrow on the Eve of World Hepatitis Day

WHITEHO– — USE STATION, N.J., July 26, 2011 – Merck (NYSE: MRK) (known as
MSD outside the United States and Canada) today announced that GRAMMY®
winner Natalie Cole is adding her voice to the company’s public health
campaign, Tune In to Hep C, with the American Liver Foundation (ALF) and
rock legend Gregg Allman. The goal of the campaign is to raise
awareness of chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Cole will join Allman
onstage at a benefit concert featuring The Allman Brothers Band and
other special guests in New York tomorrow, July 27, the eve of World
Hepatitis Day.

This cause is personal to Cole, who was diagnosed with chronic
hepatitis C during a routine blood test in 2008. It was then that she
realized she’d been living with the virus for more than 25 years –
nearly half of her life. Cole’s experience is not uncommon. In fact,
chronic hepatitis C is often referred to as the silent disease because –
for many people – it can be in the body for decades without any
symptoms . Cole is joining the campaign to encourage others with chronic
hepatitis C to put aside fear and stigma and take action.