GENEVA, Switzerland, September 29 /PRNewswire/ --

- Award Highlights Successful Global HR Approach During Company Integration

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today that it has won the prestigious "Human Capital Leadership Award" 2008 for "Strategic HR Leadership" by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The division's Human Resources (HR) department was recognized for its critical leadership role during the integration of the former Serono with the Merck Ethicals pharmaceuticals division, and in driving the organization's performance and reputation while supporting strategic goals through superior employee relations.

Judged by a panel of leading international HR experts, the winning entry from Merck Serono focused on the innovative integration initiatives following the acquisition of Serono by Merck KGaA. The integration presented challenges in terms of different business models and organizational cultures. To address this, the integration involved multiple levels - a global HR integration team involving both Merck Serono and Merck Corporate HR, global HR business partners to support the key functions of Merck Serono and local HR managers in the countries. The HR activities were designed to retain and inspire the best of both companies and allow the successful integration of over 17,000 employees worldwide. Merck Serono was the sole international winner of an award category, which was presented last week during a ceremony at SHRM's strategy conference.

"Merck was already in a process of progressing its HR operational model to better serve its global business needs. The integration allowed us to include processes and tools used by the former Serono in our review and build on the best of both organizations," said Gregor Wehner, Executive Vice President Human Resources at Merck. "The result has been not only a successful model for Merck Serono but also for the entire Merck Group."

"We are delighted that our strong integration program and the global Merck HR team has been recognized by the SHRM," said François Naef, Executive Vice President Human Resources, Legal & Communication at Merck Serono. "We feel this award is affirmation of our strategic focus on being a best-in-class employer that is able to attract and retain the very best people in our highly competitive industry."

Although integration work did not begin in earnest until January 2007, by the end of the same year most of the 221 Merck Serono HR integration milestone goals that had been set were met and a subsequent survey within the division early this year showed strong employee engagement levels that were on average 10% higher than those of other companies that had gone through a recent major change such as a merger or restructuring. During this same period, Merck Serono itself achieved total revenue growth of 7.4% in 2007 and 9.7% in the first quarter of 2008 - which was faster than that of the overall pharmaceutical market.

Elmar Schnee, General Partner and Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA and President of Merck Serono, added: "HR played a key role in ensuring the integration plan succeeded while helping sustain and accelerate business growth. In many discussions with our employees, it is clear they really understood and accepted the business sense of the merger, and ultimately it was our employees who helped make the integration such a success."

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), based in Alexandria (Virginia), USA, is the world's largest professional association devoted to human resource management. Its mission is to serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most current and comprehensive resources, and to advance the profession by promoting HR's essential, strategic role. Founded in 1948, SHRM represents more than 225,000 individual members in over 125 countries, and has a network of more than 575 affiliated chapters in the United States, as well as offices in China and India.

Merck Serono

Merck Serono is the division for innovative prescription pharmaceuticals of Merck, a global pharmaceutical and chemical group. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Merck Serono discovers, develops, manufactures and markets innovative small molecules and biopharmaceuticals to help patients with unmet medical needs. Its North American business operates in the United States and Canada as EMD Serono.

Merck Serono has leading brands serving patients with cancer (Erbitux(R)), multiple sclerosis (Rebif(R)), infertility (Gonal-f(R)), endocrine and cardiometabolic disorders (Glucophage(R), Concor(R), Euthyrox(R), Saizen(R), Serostim(R)), as well as psoriasis (Raptiva(R)).

With an annual R&D expenditure of around EUR 1bn, Merck Serono is committed to growing its business in specialist-focused therapeutic areas including neurodegenerative diseases, oncology, fertility and endocrinology, as well as new areas potentially arising out of research and development in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Merck

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of EUR 7.1 billion in 2007, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by 31,946 employees in 60 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.

For more information, please visit http://www.merckserono.net or http://www.merck.de

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