READING, Massachusetts, October 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Authoritative Medical Content Platform Combined with Deep Digital Expertise Offers Greater Opportunities to Engage Healthcare Professionals and Improve Outcomes 

Physicians Interactive^® (PI) announced today the launch of its recently acquired Univadis platform, the world's largest healthcare professional (HCP) network.

Univadis, previously a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck (known as MSD outside of the U.S. and Canada), has an active membership of more than 3 million HCPs in over 20 languages, across 63 specialties and in more than 90 countries. Univadis provides a comprehensive suite of clinically relevant resources for HCPs, including medical news, conference reports, references, textbooks and online education modules.

The Univadis platform will now operate as part of Physicians Interactive (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck, operating independently from branded pharmaceutical and vaccine operations), aligning with the company's suite of HCP-facing properties to deliver a seamless engagement experience - both for HCP members seeking credible medical content and for the life sciences companies, payors, and providers who leverage these digital properties to drive education and awareness of new medical and digital innovations aimed at improving health outcomes.

"Adding Univadis to the Physicians Interactive brand underscores our mission to advance health engagement across the entire spectrum, as well as across the globe," said Donato Tramuto, Chairman and CEO of Physicians Interactive. "There is a transformation underway in healthcare, one that requires a fresh, integrated approach grounded in proven digital strategies. With the expanded reach and rich medical content this acquisition offers, we are even better positioned to provide the end-to-end solutions our commercial partners need to deeply engage healthcare professionals - resulting in greater awareness and better health outcomes."

This acquisition also positions PI as a global digital partner for its clients looking to further engage health care professionals through digital channels - offering centrally managed, multinational campaigns featuring localized content. Today these international markets include France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States; continued expansion into dozens of markets around the world is planned over the next three years.  

About Physicians Interactive  

Physicians Interactive engages and empowers consumers and healthcare professionals with instant access to content, solutions and data to improve health outcomes. The company provides payors, retailers and life science companies with sophisticated digital engagement solutions to reach, message, educate and change behaviors.

Physicians Interactive is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (known outside the U.S. and Canada as MSD). With its own independent employees, editorial process, business and financial operations, and governance, PI maintains its information and the confidentiality of its customers' information independent from its parent company. More information can be found at http://www.PhysiciansInteractive.com.

About Merck 

Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit http://www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA 

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the "company") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company 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 the company's 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov).

Media Contact:
Physicians Interactive
media@PhysiciansInteractive.com

SOURCE Physicians Interactive, Merck, Univadis