A tale of two Mercks: Confusion mounts over shared brand name

Merck of Germany is to step up investment in its brand to defend the company's rights to the 347-year-old name it shares with Merck of the US.

Karl-Ludwig Kley, chief executive, said he wanted the German pharmaceuticals and chemicals group to be more assertive in its ownership of the brand everywhere outside North America.

The existence of two big drugmakers with the same name has become an increasing irritant for both companies as the internet has undermined a decades-old pact under which ownership of the brand was divided along geographic lines.

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"The fact is that over many decades we underinvested in our brand," he said. "We need to make people more aware of the fact there are two Mercks."

Both were originally part of the same company until the American business was confiscated by the US government during the first world war.

They have since become competitors, with German Merck holding worldwide rights to the name except in the US and Canada, where it is known as EMD. US Merck is known as MSD in the rest of the world.

The internet has made it harder to manage this agreement, with the US company increasingly referred to as Merck around the world. Media reports often use the companies' official titles - Merck & Co of the US and Merck KGaA of Germany - to distinguish them.

The problem was highlighted last year when demonstrators mistakenly turned up outside the London offices of German Merck to protest against alleged unethical behaviour by US Merck in Africa.

Mr Kley cited cases of clinical trial data being mixed up and acknowledged the situation "was not satisfactory for anyone".

With 2014 revenues of $42.2bn, US Merck is more than three times larger than its counterpart. However, Mr Kley made clear the world's oldest drugmaker was not about to forfeit a name dating back to its 17th century founder, Friedrich Jacob Merck, whose descendants still control the German company.

"From our point of view they have a rather short history but a history full of success and pride," he said, referring to US Merck. "They have been our child so to speak. The two companies are friendly. We are trying to work it out but it's not easy."

While US Merck owns the brand in the world's biggest drug market, Mr Kley pointed out that German Merck owned it in the fastest-growing markets such as China and Brazil. "They are Merck in two countries, we are in 150."

US Merck said it was committed to "resolving issues through communication and co-operation without the need to resort to litigation".

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