The Company

With more than $22 billion in sales in 2006 and approximately 60,000 employees around the globe, Merck & Co., Inc. ("Merck") is one of world's seven largest drug manufacturers. Its products are sold in more than 140 countries with close to 61 percent of Merck's 2006 sales coming from the United States, 22 percent from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 6.5 percent from Japan. Merck's headquarters are located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

In early December 2007 Merck issued financial guidance for 2007 and 2008 earnings. At that time the company reported that it had anticipated, among other charges:

"A pretax charge of $670 million in connection with the anticipated resolution of investigations, the first of which was disclosed beginning in 2002, of civil claims by federal and state authorities relating to certain past marketing and selling activities, including nominal pricing programs and samples. The resolution of these matters is still subject to execution of definitive agreements."

Our qui tam whistleblower False Claims Act settlement is included in that total.