Merck & Co., Inc.
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Company History
Founded 1891 in Rahway, New Jersey
During World War I, the US government, terrified of German influence, ruthlessly confiscated the American branch of the Merck pharmaceutical company under the 'Trading with the Enemy Act'. The company was put up for public auction. George W. Merck, the young, brilliant son of the founder, aggressively raised massive capital and bought his own company back from the US government. He instituted a highly radical philosophy: 'Medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow.' This deep commitment to absolute scientific research built a massive, multi-billion dollar American empire.
Merck & Co. possesses one of the most historic, ancestral founding stories in the entire history of modern medicine, tracing its corporate lineage directly back to a localized, ancient German pharmacy in the 17th century. The foundational origins of the global titan trace back to 1668 in Darmstadt, Germany. Friedrich Jacob Merck, an experienced pharmacist, acquired the 'Engel-Apotheke' (Angel Pharmacy). For over two centuries, the Merck family quietly operated this respected local pharmacy. The defining pivot into scientific industrial manufacturing occurred in 1827 under Emanuel Merck, who transitioned the traditional pharmacy into a heavily industrialized chemical factory, mass-producing high-purity alkaloids (like morphine and cocaine) for early medical research. The complex, uniquely American branch of the company (the modern Merck & Co.) was founded in 1891. George Merck, the 23-year-old grandson of Emanuel, was sent to New York City to establish an American subsidiary. His foundational masterstroke was embracing the explosive, growth of the American medical market. However, the historic corporate rupture occurred during World War I. Because of anti-German sentiment, the United States government seized the American subsidiary under the Trading with the Enemy Act. In 1919, George Merck executed a strategic maneuver, buying back the American company from the US government, severing all historic ties to the original German parent company (which still exists today as the Merck KGaA). Operating independently, George W. Merck heavily pioneered life-saving investments in advanced vitamins, cortisone, and streptomycin, establishing the distinct, powerful American pharmaceutical empire that dominates today.
George Merck establishes Merck & Co. As the U.S. Subsidiary of E. Merck of Darmstadt, Germany, initially focused on importing and distributing German-manufactured pharmaceutical and chemical products for the American market. The company establishes early manufacturing operations in Rahway, New Jersey, which remains the corporate headquarters more than 130 years later.
The U.S. Government seizes Merck & Co.'s assets under the Trading with the Enemy Act following American entry into World War I, appointing an Alien Property Custodian to manage German-owned U.S. Businesses. In 1919, the American management team led by George Merck purchases the confiscated assets, permanently severing the corporate connection to E. Merck of Darmstadt and establishing Merck & Co. As an independent American pharmaceutical enterprise.
Merck completes its merger with Sharp & Dohme, a Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical company with particular strength in vaccines and biological products. The combination substantially expands Merck's vaccine manufacturing and development capability, laying the organizational and scientific groundwork for the extraordinary vaccine discovery program that Maurice Hilleman would lead over the following five decades.
Merck receives FDA approval for the world's first recombinant DNA vaccine — the Merck Hepatitis B vaccine developed by Maurice Hilleman and his team using yeast-expressed recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen. The approval represents a landmark in both vaccinology and recombinant DNA technology and establishes Merck as the scientific leader in biologic vaccine development.
The FDA approves Lovastatin, marketed as Mevacor — the first HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (statin) to reach commercial availability anywhere in the world. The drug opens the era of statin therapy for cardiovascular disease prevention, a medical revolution that would eventually prevent millions of heart attacks and strokes globally and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in pharmaceutical revenue across the drug class.
Merck voluntarily withdraws Vioxx (rofecoxib) from global markets after clinical trial data in the APPROVe colorectal polyp prevention study reveal that patients taking the drug have approximately double the risk of serious cardiovascular events compared with placebo. The withdrawal — affecting a drug generating approximately $2.5 billion in annual sales at peak — triggers more than 27,000 personal injury lawsuits ultimately settled for approximately $4.85 billion and becomes one of the most studied drug safety episodes in pharmaceutical history.
The FDA approves Gardasil, Merck's quadrivalent HPV vaccine, becoming the first vaccine approved to prevent cancer by targeting human papillomavirus strains responsible for most cervical cancers globally. The approval represents one of the most significant preventive medicine advances since the polio vaccine and establishes Merck's dominance in the HPV vaccine market, a position subsequently reinforced by the approval of nine-valent Gardasil 9 in 2014.
Merck completes its $41.1 billion merger with Schering-Plough Corporation, acquiring key products including Remicade (shared commercialization rights), Nasonex, and the foundation of the immuno-oncology antibody program that would eventually produce Keytruda. The merger substantially expands Merck's scale, global commercial reach, and early-stage pipeline in immunology and oncology.
The FDA grants accelerated approval to Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for advanced melanoma in September 2014, making it the first PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor to receive FDA clearance. The approval launches what will become the most commercially successful pharmaceutical franchise in industry history, with the drug ultimately achieving approval across more than 40 cancer indications globally.
Merck completes its acquisition of Acceleron Pharma for approximately $11.5 billion, securing sotatercept — a first-in-class activin signaling inhibitor in Phase 3 development for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The acquisition proves value-creative: sotatercept is approved as Winrevair in March 2024 and achieves a strong commercial launch, with analysts projecting peak sales of $3 to $5 billion annually.
Merck acquires Prometheus Biosciences for approximately $10.8 billion, adding tulisokibart — an anti-TL1A antibody that demonstrated remarkable Phase 2 remission rates in Crohn's disease that substantially exceeded existing biologic benchmarks. If Phase 3 data replicate the Phase 2 signal, tulisokibart could achieve peak annual sales of $5 billion or more and become a foundational asset in Merck's post-Keytruda revenue bridge.
FDA approval of Winrevair (sotatercept) for pulmonary arterial hypertension in March 2024 marks the launch of Merck's most important new commercial product in a decade. Simultaneously, Keytruda reaches approximately $29.5 billion in annual revenue — believed to be the highest annual sales ever recorded for a single pharmaceutical product in industry history — while Merck's total revenue reaches approximately $63.6 billion.
Merck reported $65.011B in FY2025 worldwide sales, $18.254B in net income attributable to Merck, $31.7B in Keytruda/Keytruda Qlex sales, and about 75,000 employees.
Merck acquired Schering-Plough to diversify its pipeline beyond blockbuster drugs facing patent cliffs, gaining access to biologics manufacturing capabilities, the animal health franchise (now Merck Animal Health), and key products including Remicade and the cholesterol franchise.
Merck acquired Acceleron to gain sotatercept, a first-in-class treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The drug targets the underlying biology of PAH rather than just symptoms, representing a potential paradigm shift in treating the disease.
Merck acquired Prometheus to gain PRA023, a TL1A antibody for inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease). TL1A is considered one of the most promising new targets in immunology.
Merck acquired Medco, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the United States, aiming to vertically integrate drug development with drug distribution and gain insights into prescribing patterns and patient outcomes.
Since its establishment in 1891, Merck & Co., Inc. expanded from an early-stage venture into a recognized leader in Pharmaceuticals / Biotechnology / Animal Health, overcoming key market challenges.
Over its history, Merck & Co., Inc. executed decisive strategic pivots toward scalable monetization and digital distribution, securing its current market leadership.
By continually modernizing operations and embracing workflow automation, Merck & Co., Inc. maintains resilience through changing technological and economic cycles.