Read the press release here: http://bit.ly/MaccabiHealth

1. Published on Merck Newsroom Home (ht t p://www.mercknewsroom.com) on 9/9/13 8:00 am EDT
Merck and Israel’s Maccabi Healthcare to Leverage
Unique Real-World Database to Inform Novel Health
Approaches
Release Date:
Monday, Sept ember 9, 2013 8:00 am EDT
T erms:
Maccabi
Merck
MRK
MSD
Sachin Jain
Varda Shalev
Corporat e News
Lat est News
Dateline City:
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. and TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD out side t he Unit ed St at es and Canada, and Maccabi Healt hcare Services, a t wo millionmember healt h care provider in Israel, are st art ing a new, mult i-year agreement t o leverage real-world dat a from Maccabi’s
unique longit udinal dat abase t o inform novel, pat ient -cent ered healt h approaches.
Maccabi and Merck will apply t echnical and informat ion research capabilit ies t o draw insight s from Maccabi’s dat a t o support
personalized healt h care delivery st rat egies across several t herapeut ic areas, including prevalent and cost ly chronic
diseases. Specifically, t he part ies seek t o enable bet t er underst anding of unmet pat ient needs, real-world out comes
achieved wit h medical t reat ment s, and opt imal approaches for improving pat ient adherence.
“Using elect ronic medical record t echnology t o help improve our pat ient s’ out comes and well-being has been a Maccabi
priorit y for more t han 20 years,” said Varda Shalev, M.D., direct or of Primary Care Division, Maccabi Healt h Care Services. “We
believe t hat combining Merck research expert ise wit h our fully int egrat ed, elect ronic, de-ident ified pat ient dat a can unlock
major insight s for achieving bet t er out comes in healt hcare, including chronic diseases where educat ion, medicat ion and
adherence are so import ant . Our goal is t hat our dat a will enable research project s t hat advance healt hcare, from product
development t o pat ient wellness programs.”
A pioneer in elect ronic medical records, Maccabi has gat hered and maint ained an elect ronic medical record (EMR) dat abase
since 1993, providing a rare and valuable pict ure of longit udinal pat ient healt h t hat t racks how visit s t o primary-care
physicians, hospit als and pharmacies, plus demographic shift s during t he past 20 years, influence healt h out comes. Maccabi’s
2 million members represent nearly 25 percent of t he Israeli populat ion, and t end t o remain cust omers of t he healt h care
syst em for life. Maccabi’s dat a set s are de-ident ified t o fully prot ect and maint ain pat ient privacy – a t op priorit y for bot h
Maccabi and Merck.
“Market forces are demanding t hat all of us involved in healt h care find ways t o enhance t he qualit y of care while also offering
great er efficiency and value, including research-driven companies like Merck,” said Sachin Jain, M.D., chief medical informat ion
and innovat ion officer, Merck. “In order t o act ually reduce cost s and opt imize qualit y, we’re going t o need t o have new
breakt hroughs – in medicines and vaccines, as well as how we st ruct ure and organize and deliver care t o pat ient s. By
harnessing t he power of large dat a set s such as Maccabi’s, we have an opport unit y t o derive new insight s about diseases,
t reat ment paradigms and pat ient s – so we can work t o address t he most import ant medical needs of pat ient s as well as t he
needs of payers.”
In addit ion t o t his new agreement wit h Maccabi, Merck is working wit h t he Regenst rief Inst it ut e and Pat ient sLikeMe® on
collaborat ions t o assess and apply insight s from t heir real-world pat ient dat abases t o advance medical t reat ment and care.
Abo ut Maccabi
Maccabi Healt hcare Services, one of t he largest healt h funds in t he world, provides comprehensive medical coverage t o 2
million members. Maccabi has long been recognized, bot h in Israel and abroad, as a unique and innovat ive healt h care syst em
t hat includes all services, leading t he way in many areas including cut t ing edge medical t echnology, comprehensive and
int egrat ed comput erized informat ion syst ems, cost –effect ive management , and sophist icat ed monit oring and evaluat ion
t ools.
Abo ut Merck
Today's Merck is a global healt hcare leader working t o help t he world be well. Merck is known as MSD out side t he Unit ed
St at es and Canada. Through our prescript ion medicines, vaccines, biologic t herapies, and consumer care and animal healt h
product s, we work wit h cust omers and operat e in more t han 140 count ries t o deliver innovat ive healt h solut ions. We also
demonst rat e our commit ment t o increasing access t o healt hcare t hrough far-reaching policies, programs and part nerships.
For more informat ion, visit www.merck.com and connect wit h us on Twit t er, Facebook and YouTube.
Merck Fo rward-Lo o king Statement
This news release includes “forward-looking st at ement s” wit hin t he meaning of t he safe harbor provisions of t he Unit ed
St at es Privat e Securit ies Lit igat ion Reform Act of 1995. These st at ement s are based upon t he current beliefs and
expect at ions of Merck’s management and are subject t o significant risks and uncert aint ies. If underlying assumpt ions prove
inaccurat e or risks or uncert aint ies mat erialize, act ual result s may differ mat erially from t hose set fort h in t he forwardlooking st at ement s.
Risks and uncert aint ies include but are not limit ed t o, general indust ry condit ions and compet it ion; general economic fact ors,
including int erest rat e and currency exchange rat e fluct uat ions; t he impact of pharmaceut ical indust ry regulat ion and healt h
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2. care legislat ion in t he Unit ed St at es and int ernat ionally; global t rends t oward healt h care cost cont ainment ; t echnological
advances, new product s and pat ent s at t ained by compet it ors; challenges inherent in new product development , including
obt aining regulat ory approval; Merck’s abilit y t o accurat ely predict fut ure market condit ions; manufact uring difficult ies or
delays; financial inst abilit y of int ernat ional economies and sovereign risk; dependence on t he effect iveness of Merck’s
pat ent s and ot her prot ect ions for innovat ive product s; and t he exposure t o lit igat ion, including pat ent lit igat ion, and/or
regulat ory act ions.
Merck undert akes no obligat ion t o publicly updat e any forward-looking st at ement , whet her as a result of new informat ion,
fut ure event s or ot herwise. Addit ional fact ors t hat could cause result s t o differ mat erially from t hose described in t he
forward-looking st at ement s can be found in Merck’s 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K and t he company’s ot her filings wit h
t he Securit ies and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at t he SEC’s Int ernet sit e (www.sec.gov).
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Cont act :
Merck Media Relat ions:
Caroline Lappet it o: (267) 305-7639
or
Maccabi Media Relat ions:
Ido Hadari: 972 50 8801333
or
Merck Invest or Relat ions:
Carol Ferguson: (908) 423-4465
Language:
English
T icker Slug:
Ticker: MRK
Exchange: NYSE
Source URL: http://www.mercknewsroom.com/news-release/maccabi/merck-and-israels-maccabi-healthcare-leverage-unique-realworld-database-inform
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