Terms of Use

These terms were last revised on March 24, 2025.

This website is maintained by Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA (“Merck”) and is intended for use by residents of the United States and its territories who are 18 years of age or older. By using this website and/or the services we provide on the website (together, the “Services”) you represent and warrant that you reside in and are accessing the Services from the United States.

BY AGREEING TO THESE TERMS OF USE, YOU AGREE TO AN ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND A CLASS ACTION WAIVER THAT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS. IT REQUIRES THAT DISPUTES BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY IN BINDING ARBITRATION OR SMALL CLAIMS COURT. DISPUTES IN ARBITRATION AND SMALL CLAIMS COURT ARE RESOLVED WITHOUT A JURY TRIAL AND WITH LESS DISCOVERY AND LESS APPELLATE REVIEW THAN IN COURT.

1. Acceptance of these Terms of Use

By using the Services, you agree to be bound by, and to comply with, the terms of use on this page (“Terms of Use”). Merck reserves the right to change the Services, including by adding functionality or removing functionality of the Services, their offerings, and content at any time. Merck may also modify the Terms of Use from time to time, as necessary, and will provide notice on this page of any such changes, including the date they became effective. You may access this page at any time through the Terms of Use link at the bottom of each page on Merck’s U.S. websites.

2. No Medical Advice

Nothing on or within the Services should be construed as the giving of advice or the making of a recommendation regarding any decision or action related to your health or the health of others. If you are a patient, you should consult a doctor or other qualified health care professional regarding any questions you have about your health or before making any treatment decisions. If you are a doctor or other qualified health care professional, you should not allow the content of the Services to substitute for your own medical judgment, which you should exercise in evaluating the information from the Services.

3. Exclusion of Warranty

While Merck has used reasonable efforts update the information on the Services for accuracy, completeness, and currency, Merck expressly disclaims any warranty or representation regarding the accuracy, completeness, or currency of such information. THE INFORMATION AND CONTENT PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS,” WITHOUT A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT MERCK WEBSITES, THE SERVERS, OR ANY TRANSMISSIONS SENT FROM US OR THROUGH THE SERVICES WILL BE FREE OF ANY HARMFUL COMPONENTS (INCLUDING VIRUSES).

4. User Submissions & Personal Information

Through the Services, Merck may collect, through registration processes or other means, personal information about you. Please refer to Merck’s Global Internet Privacy Policy for details about how we protect your personal information as well as Merck’s Global Online Tracking Policy regarding the types of cookies and similar technologies that our Services, including any of our websites, web applications and other online services use and how you can control cookies on your computer or mobile device. You are responsible for the accuracy of any personal information about you that you provide to Merck through the Services. Note that access to web applications and other online services may be subject to additional or separate terms and conditions.

Except for information covered by our U.S. privacy policy and U.S. Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy, any communication or materials you transmit to or through the Services, including data, comments, questions, suggestions, ideas, concepts, know-how, techniques, or the like, shall become the property of Merck. Merck shall be free to use, disclose, reproduce, or distribute any such communications or materials without limitation of any kind.

5. Third Party Links

The Services may contain information brought to you by third parties or through links to other Internet websites. Notice of information or links of this kind is provided throughout the website. Merck does not control nor assume any responsibility for the information provided by third parties, the content of other Internet websites, or non-Merck content to which we provide links.

6. Forward-Looking Statements

The Services may include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Merck’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at www.sec.gov.

7. Intellectual Property Rights

You should assume that all trademarks, logos, designs, slogans, and trade dress appearing on in connection with the Services, whether or not appearing in large print, italics, or with the trademark symbol, are owned by Merck or its affiliate companies, or are used under license. The Services may also contain or reference patents, proprietary information, technologies, products, processes, content, or other proprietary rights of Merck and/or other parties. No license to, or right in, any such trademarks, patents, trade secrets, technologies, products, processes, content, and other proprietary rights of Merck and/or other parties is granted to, or conferred upon, you. As between you and Merck, Merck reserves all rights, title, and interest in and to such any such trademarks, patents, trade secrets, technologies, products, processes, content, and other proprietary rights of Merck.

You may not distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, repost, or use the content of the  Services for public or commercial purposes, including the text, images, audio, or video, without the written permission of Merck. You should assume that everything you see or read from or within the Services is copyrighted unless otherwise noted and may not be used, except as provided in the Terms of Use or in the text on the website, without the written permission of Merck. Merck neither warrants nor represents that your use of any content or materials displayed or available through the Services will not infringe rights of third parties not owned by, or affiliated with, Merck.

You agree that you may not, and may not assist any third party to:

• license, sell, rent, lease, transfer, assign, reproduce, distribute, host, copy, edit, create derivative works, adapt, translate, mirror, reformat, derive, emulate, exploit, republish, download, display, post, transmit, or otherwise commercially exploit any content or materials on or otherwise available through the Services;
• use any manual or automated software, devices or other processes (including but not limited to spiders, robots, bots, scrapers, crawlers, avatars, data mining tools or the like) to “scrape”, “data mine”, extract, view, access or download any data, content or materials from the Services, for any purpose, including but not limited to training, developing, training, modifying or enhancing any artificial intelligence models such as large language models or other machine learning technologies, (except that we grant the operators of public search engines revocable permission to use spiders to copy materials from the website and through the Services for the sole purpose of and solely to the extent necessary for creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, but not caches or archives of such materials);
• remove or destroy any copyright notices or other proprietary markings contained on the website or any content or material on or made available through the Services;
• interfere with or attempt to interfere with the proper functioning of the Services; including any security features or introducing viruses, worms, or similar harmful code into the Services; or
• use the Services (or any content or materials) in an unauthorized way or in any way that violates applicable laws, including to violate a third party’s privacy, or threaten, stalk, harass, defame, or otherwise violate the legal rights of others.

8. Prohibited Transmissions

Pursuant to Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, providers of interactive computer services shall not be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider. Although Merck may from time to time monitor or review discussions, chats, postings, transmissions, bulletin boards, and the like on the website, if any, Merck is under no obligation to do so and assumes no responsibility or liability arising from the content of any such Web pages or utilities nor for any third party’s error, defamation, libel, slander, omission, falsehood, obscenity, pornography, profanity, danger, or inaccuracy contained in any information within such pages or utilities on or within the Services. You are prohibited from posting or transmitting any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, or profane material or any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law.

Merck reserves the right, if you violate the Terms of Use, to suspend or terminate these Terms of Use and/or any account you have created on the Services, including access and use of the Services.

9. Dispute Resolution

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT. THERE IS NO JUDGE OR JURY IN ARBITRATION, AND DISCOVERY PROCEDURES AND APPELLATE RIGHTS ARE MORE LIMITED THAN IN COURT.

i. Disputes that Must Be Arbitrated

Except as specifically stated herein, you agree that any disputes, actions, and claims relating to your use of the Services and all matters arising out of or related to the Terms of Use (collectively “Disputes” or a “Dispute”) that are not resolved informally shall be resolved exclusively by final binding arbitration, except that you may assert claims in small claims court in the county of your residence or in Union County, New Jersey, if your claims qualify.

ii. Informal Negotiation

In the event of a Dispute, you and Merck agree to attempt to avoid the costs of formal dispute resolution by giving each other a full and fair opportunity to address and resolve a dispute informally. The claiming party must send to the other party a notice of dispute (“Notice of Dispute”), which is a written statement that sets forth the name, address, and contact information of the party giving the notice, detailed factual information sufficient to evaluate the merits of the claiming party’s individualized claim, and the specific relief sought, including whatever amount of money is demanded and the means by which the demanding party calculated the claimed damages. You must send any Notice of Dispute to: Office of the Corporate Secretary, Attn: NOTICE OF DISPUTE, Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, 126 E Lincoln Ave, Rahway, NJ 07065-4607.

We will send any Notice of Dispute to you at the contact information we have for you. You and Merck will attempt to resolve a dispute through informal negotiation within sixty (60) days beginning from the date the Notice of Dispute is sent (“Informal Negotiation”). This Informal Negotiation requires an individual meet–and-confer in person, telephonically, or via videoconference that addresses only the Dispute between you and us. If you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also need to individually participate. Merck will participate in the conference through one or more representatives, which may include our counsel. After the end of the sixty (60) day Informal Negotiation period and not before, and only after the completion of the dispute resolution conference with respect to a claim, you or we may commence an arbitration proceeding regarding that claim. Alternatively, you may litigate a Dispute in small claims court immediately if the Dispute meets the requirements to be heard in small claims court and you proceed only on an individual basis, whether or not you first negotiated informally or completed a dispute resolution conference. However, nothing in this paragraph is intended to prohibit the parties from engaging in informal communications to resolve the initiating party’s claims before, during, or after any dispute resolution conference or filing in small claims court.

iii. Binding Individual Arbitration

THE ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS IN THIS SECTION WILL BE CONDUCTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS ONLY. Under no circumstances does Merck consent to have any Disputes arbitrated using class action procedures, even if the arbitration provider has rules permitting class arbitrations.

If you, on one hand, and Merck, on the other, do not resolve a Dispute by Informal Negotiation, you and Merck agree that the Dispute shall be resolved exclusively by final binding Individual arbitration, except that you may assert claims in small claims court in the county of your residence or in Union County, New Jersey, if your claims qualify. The arbitration will be conducted by American Arbitration Association (https://www.adr.org/) (“AAA”), according to the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and federal arbitration law and according to AAA’s arbitration rules and procedures (the “Rules”), as modified by these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use affect interstate commerce, and the enforceability of this Section 3 will be substantively and procedurally governed by the FAA, 9 U.S.C. § 1, et seq., to the extent permitted by law.

You may initiate arbitration of any Dispute not resolved by Informal Negotiation by filing a Demand for Arbitration with AAA in accordance with the Rules. Instructions for filing a Demand for Arbitration are available at https://www.adr.org or can be done by mail at the address provided by AAA at https://www.adr.org. You will send a copy of any Demand for Arbitration to the following address: Office of the Corporate Secretary, Attn: NOTICE OF DISPUTE, Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, 126 E Lincoln Ave, Rahway, NJ 07065-4607.

You and Merck are each giving up the right to have Disputes resolved in court before a judge and/or jury (except as stated otherwise in this Dispute Resolution section). All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, except that issues relating to the scope, interpretation, and enforceability of this Dispute Resolution section, including the arbitration and class action waiver provisions, are for the court to decide. The most current version of this Dispute Resolution section in effect when any Dispute arises shall govern resolution of any Dispute. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of these Terms of Use. Merck will send any Demand for Arbitration to the contact information we have for you. The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator. You and Merck both agree that the arbitration will be conducted in English and that the arbitrator will be bound by these Terms of Use.

Payment of all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees (“Arbitration Fees”) will be governed by the Rules. You agree to commence arbitration only in your county of residence or in Union County, New Jersey. The arbitration will be conducted based on written submissions unless you request a phone or in-person hearing, or the arbitrator determines that a phone or in-person hearing is necessary. The arbitrator may only award those damages and relief as a court could and must follow the terms and conditions of the Terms of Use and this Dispute Resolution section. An arbitration award, and any judgment confirming it, applies only to that specific case; it cannot be used or offered as precedent in any other case except to enforce the award itself. Any decision or award may be enforced as a final judgment by any court of competent jurisdiction or, if applicable, application may be made to such court for judicial confirmation of any award and an order of enforcement.

iv. Notice and Filing

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU OR MERCK MUST START ARBITRATION OF A DISPUTE WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR FROM WHEN THE DISPUTE FIRST AROSE. IF APPLICABLE LAW REQUIRES YOU OR MERCK TO BRING A CLAIM FOR A DISPUTE SOONER THAN ONE YEAR AFTER THE DISPUTE FIRST AROSE, THAT SHORTER DEADLINE APPLIES INSTEAD. THE FAILURE TO BEGIN ARBITRATION REGARDING A DISPUTE WITHIN THE TIME FRAMES DESCRIBED ABOVE IN THIS SECTION SHALL BAR THE DISPUTE, WHICH MEANS THAT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU AND MERCK WILL NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASSERT THE DISPUTE.

v. Coordinated Filings

If 25 or more Disputes are initiated with the arbitrator that raise similar claims, and counsel for the claimants are the same or coordinated, these will be considered “Coordinated Cases.” Merck will pay only its share of arbitration fees for Coordinated Cases; claimants will be responsible for their share of those fees as set by the Rules and AAA’s fee schedule for mass arbitrations. Applicable statutes of limitations will be tolled for all claimants who have provided compliant Notices of Dispute to Merck, but demands for arbitration in Coordinated Cases shall only be filed with the arbitration provider as permitted by the bellwether process set forth below, and Merck shall not be required to pay any fees associated with cases that this agreement does not allow to be filed.

Once all Notices of Dispute have been provided to Merck for Coordinated Cases, claimants’ and Merck’s counsel shall confer in good faith regarding the number of cases that should proceed as bellwethers, to allow each side to test the merits of its arguments, before the remainder of claims may be filed with the arbitration provider. Any number chosen must be an even number so as to allow each side to designate its half of the cases selected for bellwether trials. If counsel for claimants and for Merck do not agree on the number of bellwethers, the number shall be chosen by the arbitration provider. Once the number of bellwethers is fixed, each side shall select half that number from among the claimants who have provided compliant Notices of Dispute, and only those chosen claims may be filed with the arbitration provider. You agree that if your case is among Coordinated Cases filed against Merck, resolution of your personal claim might be delayed by this bellwether process. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to delay the resolution of uncoordinated Disputes based on similar claims to Coordinated Cases filed against Merck. A single arbitrator shall preside over each Coordinated Case chosen for a bellwether proceeding, and only one Coordinated Case may be assigned to each arbitrator as part of a bellwether process unless the parties agree otherwise.

Once all bellwether trials have concluded (or sooner if the parties’ respective counsel agree), the parties must make a good-faith effort to resolve all remaining cases that were not chosen for a bellwether proceeding via a single mediation of all remaining cases. Each side shall pay half the applicable mediation fee. Counsel for claimants in the Coordinated Cases and for Merck must agree on a mediator within 30 days after the conclusion of the last bellwether trial. If the parties’ respective counsel cannot agree on a mediator within 30 days, the arbitration provider will appoint a mediator as an administrative matter. If the mediation does not yield a global resolution, claimants in Coordinated Cases who provided compliant Notices of Dispute but whose claims were not resolved in bellwether proceedings shall no longer have the right to arbitrate their Dispute. Instead, outstanding claims from such cases may be filed only in the state courts in Union County, New Jersey or if federal jurisdiction exists, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and you consent to venue such cases exclusively in these courts. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as prohibiting either you or Merck from removing a case from state to federal court if removal is allowed under applicable law. To the extent you are asserting the same claims as other persons and are represented by common or coordinated counsel, you agree to waive any objection that the joinder of all such persons is impracticable. If a formerly arbitrable Dispute is brought in court, claimants may seek class treatment, but to the fullest extent allowed by applicable law, the classes sought may comprise only the claimants in the Coordinated Cases who provided compliant Notices of Dispute, and Merck reserves the right to contest class certification at any stage of litigation and on any available basis. A court shall have authority to enforce this bellwether process and may enjoin the filing of lawsuits or arbitration demands not made in compliance with it.

vi. Continuation in Effect; Future Terms Changes; Injunctive Relief

The dispute resolution process set forth in this agreement survives the termination of any other agreement between you and Merck. Although Merck may revise these dispute resolution terms in its discretion, Merck does not have the right to alter this agreement, or the arbitration rules specified herein, with respect to any Dispute once that Dispute arises if such change would make arbitration procedures materially less favorable to the claimant. The question of whether a change is materially less favorable to the claimant shall be decided by the arbitration provider as a process matter.

The foregoing provisions of this Dispute Resolution section will not apply to any legal action taken by Merck to seek an injunction or other equitable relief in emergent circumstances in connection with, any loss, cost, or damage (or any potential loss, cost, or damage) relating to the Services and/or Merck’s intellectual property rights, operations, and/or products or services.

vii. Class Action Waiver

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, disputes, claims, and controversies not subject to the requirement to arbitrate (including, but not limited to, claims filed in small claims court and claims that are deemed not subject to the requirement to arbitrate) may not be aggregated together in a class action, except that (as set forth above in Section 5) if a formerly arbitrable Dispute is brought in court, claimants may seek class treatment, but to the fullest extent allowed by applicable law, the classes sought may comprise only the claimants in the Coordinated Cases who provided compliant Notices of Dispute, and Merck reserves the right to contest class certification at any stage of the litigation and on any available basis. Accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you and Merck will only bring disputes, claims, or controversies between Merck in an individual capacity only and shall not:

• seek to bring, join, or participate in any class or representative action, collective or class-wide arbitration, or any other action where another individual or entity acts in a representative capacity (like private attorney general actions); or
• consolidate or combine individual proceedings or permit another to do so without the express consent of all parties to these Terms of Use.

10. Governing Law

These Terms of Use will be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws of the State of New Jersey without regard to conflict of laws.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAWS, MERCK, ON BEHALF OF OUR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, LICENSORS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS, EXCLUDE AND DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSSES AND EXPENSES OF WHATEVER NATURE AND HOWSOEVER ARISING INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, GENERAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; LOSS OF USE; LOSS OF DATA; LOSS CAUSED BY A VIRUS; LOSS OF INCOME OR PROFIT; LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY; CLAIMS OF THIRD PARTIES; OR OTHER LOSSES OF ANY KIND OR CHARACTER, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THE SERVICES. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND THE CONTENT AND YOUR DATA. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY APPLIES WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER BASIS. IF ANY PART OF THIS LIMITATION ON LIABILITY IS FOUND TO BE INVALID OR UNENFORCEABLE FOR ANY REASON, THEN THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FOR LIABILITIES THAT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIMITED SHALL NOT EXCEED TEN DOLLARS ($10.00).

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain kinds of limitations or exclusions of liability, so the limitations and exclusions set out in these Terms of Use may not apply to you. Other jurisdictions allow limitations and exclusions subject to certain conditions. In such a case the limitations and exclusions set out in these Terms of Use shall apply to the fullest extent permitted by the laws of such applicable jurisdictions. Your statutory rights as a consumer, if any, are not affected by these provisions, and we do not seek to exclude or limit liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Merck, its subsidiaries, franchises and affiliates, and their respective officers, agents, partners, and employees (the “Merck Parties”), harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Services, including in violation of these Terms of Use or any applicable laws, rules, or regulations, and/or arising from a breach of these Terms of Use. Merck reserves the right to defend any such claim, and you agree to provide the Merck Parties with such reasonable cooperation and information as Merck may request.

13. Termination

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Merck may terminate your access to the Services and/or these Terms of Use for any reason following notice to you.

14. Feedback

You hereby grant to us a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, and transferable right and license to use all feedback, suggestions, and improvements that you provide to us regarding the Services (the “Feedback”). Without limiting the foregoing, you agree that Merck may reduce to practice, exploit, make, use, copy, disclose, display or perform publicly, distribute, improve, and modify any such Feedback you submit for any purpose whatsoever, without restriction and without compensating you in any way.

15. Severability

If all or any provision of the Terms of Use is found invalid, unenforceable, or illegal, you and Merck agree that the provision will be severed, and the rest of these Terms of Use shall remain in effect and be construed as if any severed provision had not been included. The sole exception is that if the prohibition on class arbitrations in Section 9 (Dispute Resolution) is found invalid, unenforceable, or illegal, you and Merck agree that the entire agreement to arbitrate (but not the separate class action waiver) will be void and unenforceable and any dispute will be resolved in court subject to the Governing Law provision herein.