Merck's Consumer Health Business Presents New Purpose to Help Prepare Society for 100 Healthy Years

PR65719

DARMSTADT, Germany, September 13 / PRNewswire=KYODO JBN / -

     - "WE100" movement will promote activities to prepare society for 100

healthy years across generations

    Merck, a leading science and technology company, revealed the new purpose

"Prepare society for a new era of humans living 100 healthy years" for its

Consumer Health business. The purpose will be brought to life through the

movement "WE100(R)" aimed at raising awareness of healthy living, all the way

from children's age to 100 years. The WE100 movement with its motto "Young for

old. Old for young." will also coordinate concrete actions to help prepare

society for humans living 100 healthy years.

    Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160913/406890

    The new purpose of the Consumer Health business of Merck has been presented

along with the WE100 movement by Uta Kemmerich-Keil, President and CEO of the

Consumer Health Business, who commented "Our main objective is to change

perceptions of society and take concrete action to articulate the next steps on

our journey toward 100 healthy years. This initiative is equally aimed at the

younger population, which needs to be educated now about the right approach to

healthy ageing." Kemmerich-Keil added "We decided to launch a new purpose and

WE100 as a neutral movement so that everybody sharing the goal of preparing

society to live 100 healthy years could join," Kemmerich-Keil concluded.

    The WE100 movement was also recently presented at Cannes Creativity

Festival by Atilla Cansun, Chief Marketing Officer of the Consumer Health

business of Merck, who explained "We believe age does not influence how much

one has to offer. Our first step will be to eliminate the barriers preventing

the older generation to be fully involved and integrated in society. We want to

set the bar high and we welcome anyone sharing our goal to prepare society for

humans living 100 healthy years to join us as the WE100 movement develops."

    As life expectancy continues to increase dramatically across the world

since 1945, surveys shows that society is not yet prepared for the prospect of

humans living 100 years.[1] According to the World Health Organization (WHO),

the world's population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22% by 2050.

    As a first step of the WE100 movement, the Consumer Health business of

Merck conducted a survey on ageing and the perception of ageing across society,

which showed that 80% of interviewees think that society needs to dramatically

change its perception and attitude towards ageing. The survey also showed that

95% of interviewees believe governments are not taking a proactive role in

findings solutions to trigger greater involvement in the society after

retirement. In addition, 80% of those interviewed think they have lower chances

to find jobs at age 50+ versus younger generations. Finally, when asked whether

children are prepared to live 100 healthy years, 93% of survey respondents say

current education is falling short of providing the necessary information to

prepare children early on to live a long healthy life.

    As part of the WE100 movement pilots, activities in schools are planned in

2017 to help children prepare for healthy ageing. Finally, as of October 2016,

WE100 will start working on establishing partnerships with public and private

organizations around the theme of living 100 healthy years to involve relevant

stakeholders in the movement.

    About the Consumer Health business of Merck

    Brands of the Consumer Health business, such as Neurobion(R), Bion(R),

Nasivin(R), Seven Seas(R), Dolo-Neurobion(R), and Femibion(R) are innovative

leaders in key markets, backed by science and trusted by consumers worldwide.

The Consumer Health business is with over 3,700 employees globally active in

over 40 markets. The portfolio comprises of brands with annual total sales of

about $ 1 billion. Consumer Health is a business of the Healthcare business

sector within the Merck Group with global headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany.

    For more information please go to http://www.merck-consumer-health.com or

https://twitter.com/merck_ch .

    1. Omnibus Daily for Merck group Ageing Survey among 2344 participants

    All Merck Press Releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they

become available on the Merck Website. Please go to

http://www.merckgroup.com/subscribeto register online, change your selection or

discontinue this service.

    About Merck

    Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life

science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further

develop technologies that improve and enhance life - from biopharmaceutical

therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for

scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD

televisions. In 2015, Merck generated sales of EUR 12.85 billion in 66

countries.

    Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical

company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed

corporate group. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck

name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the

company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.

    Contact: Lars Atorf, +49-6151-856-3114

    Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160913/406891LOGO

    SOURCE: Merck