Merck & Co., Inc. is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, founded in 1891 as the United States subsidiary of the German chemical and pharmaceutical firm E. Merck, and became a fully independent company after its assets were seized by the US government during the First World War. It is known outside the United States and Canada as MSD, short for Merck Sharp & Dohme, to avoid confusion with the unrelated German company Merck KGaA, which retained rights to the Merck name in other markets, and it remains one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
Facts
Company TypeAmerican multinational pharmaceutical company 1 Founded Year HeadquartersRahway, New Jersey, U.S. 1 Connections
Operates In
A major pharmaceutical company; classified in the atlas pharmaceutical-industry.
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Merck & Co., Inc.
WikipediaWikipedia REST API summary extract, introduction, fetched 2026-09-12Quote, Wikipedia REST API summary extract, introduction, fetched 2026-09-12
In 1891, Merck & Co. was established as the American affiliate of the Merck Group, founded by the Merck family, and the companies are still in trademark disputes in several countries over the right to use the name
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