Established in the year 1668 by Friedrich Jacob Merck, Merck KGaA is the Germany based pharmaceutical company having it’s headquarter situated at Darmstadt in Germany. Merck KGaA is also popularly known as German Merck or Merck Darmstadt. It is one of the oldest and still operationally going strong chemical and pharmaceutical enterprises across the world today. The company was privately owned until 1995 when it went public duly incorporated. The Merck family still has the majority of the company’s shares under their control empowering them to manage the corporate company.

 

Immediately after the WW-I episode, Merck lost their possession on their foreign units which included the Merck & Co – the company’s subsidiary located in the United States as well as Merck & Co known as Merck Sharp and Dome – MSD outside the United States and Canada which is currently an independent entity. Merck KGaA is supposed to operate chiefly in the member countries of the European Union. 

 

The history of Merck is believed to be very interesting like the company’s roots dates back to the 17^th century. During the year 1668, an archaic dispensing chemist named Friedrich Jacob Merck took-over the possession of the Engel-Apotheke or say Engel Pharmacy in Darmstadt in Germany.

 

Many recognized and successful products have been invented by Merck but currently the main concentration of the pharmaceutical R&D is on Oncology and Cardio-metabolic Care. In the earlier therapeutic segments, the company’s first sold product is Erbitux having Cetuximab for which the company has world-wide marketing rights except North America where it is sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb.   

 

The other major products of the company include: Metformin, Bisoprolol and Digitoxin.