Merck Serono to Award Grant to Innovative Research Projects in Fertility

Grant Designed to Stimulate Innovation in The Field of Fertility

ROME, June 29, 2010 - Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today
announces the recipients of its first Grant for Fertility Innovation. The
company has awarded around 1 million Euros to five innovative research
projects with the same common goal: to improve the chances for couples to
conceive a baby. The Grant for Fertility Innovation program was developed by
the company to support the advancement of medical science in the field of
fertility.

"This initiative represents an unprecedented commitment from Merck Serono
to encourage innovative thinking among the scientific community in the
fertility area", said Fereydoun Firouz, Head of the Global Business Unit
Fertility and Metabolic Endocrinology at Merck Serono. "Today, we are proud
to award the first grants to five breakthrough projects which have
demonstrated a potential to develop into novel applications for clinicians to
improve patients outcomes. We will continue to stimulate innovation in the
fertility field by offering new grants for next year."

A total of 212 entries were received from scientists from 33 countries
worldwide. Projects were selected by a scientific committee composed of
fertility experts. Each entry was blinded and evaluated according to five
criteria: support to increase the chances to conceive a baby, innovation,
scientific rationale, feasibility and practical utility.

The awardees were announced at a ceremony held at the 26th annual meeting
of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), in the
presence of Professor André Van Steirteghem, a recognized pioneer in
fertility treatment, Professor Emeritus of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
(VUB; Brussels Free University), Honorary Consultant of the Centre for
Reproductive Medicine of the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, and
Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal Human Reproduction.

Grants were awarded to:

    - Dr. Nathalie Ledee, Professor of Assisted reproduction at the
      University of Paris, France: Non-invasive approaches on oocyte
      competence to predict pregnancy.

    - Dr. Dominique Royere, Professor of Reproductive Medicine and Biology,
      University of Tours, France: Cumulus cells biomarkers detection by
      reverse phase protein microarray.

    - Dr. Carlos Simon, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the
      University of Valencia, Spain: New Non-Invasive Diagnostic Method of
      Human Endometrial Receptivity.

    - Dr. Carl Spiessens, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Catholic
      University of Leuven and Director of the Laboratory of the Leuven
      University Fertility Center, Belgium: Selecting the embryo with the
      highest implantation potential using novel non-invasive methods.

    - Dr. Dagan Wells, BRC Scientific Leadership Fellow in Reproductive
      Genetics at the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology,
      University of Oxford: Rapid inexpensive DNA fragmentation analysis of
      sperm & cumulus cells.

Funding of each project is dependent on fulfillment of predetermined,
specific milestones. Further details on the five research programs and
information relating to the 2011 entry submissions are available on the Grant
for Fertility Innovation website: www.grantforfertilityinnovation.com.

Notes to editors

Photos of the award ceremony can be downloaded from the Grant for
Fertility Innovation website: www.grantforfertilityinnovation.com from
Tuesday, June 29, 2010.

About Merck Serono and Fertility Treatment

Merck Serono is the world leader in fertility treatments, and the only
company to offer a full portfolio of fertility drugs for every stage of the
reproductive cycle and recombinant versions of the three hormones needed to
treat infertility: GONAL-f(R) (follitropin alfa), to stimulate the ovaries
and produce eggs in women and spermatogenesis induction in men; Luveris(R)
(lutropin alfa), to stimulate follicular development in women who are
profoundly LH deficient; Ovitrelle(R) (choriogonadotropin alfa), to help
follicles mature and release eggs; Pergoveris(R) (follitropin alfa/lutropin
alfa) to stimulate follicular development in women with severe LH and FSH
deficiency; Cetrotide(R) (cetrorelix acetate) to prevent a premature
ovulation; and Crinone(R) (progesterone gel), to help establish and maintain
a pregnancy. Not all products are available in all markets.

About Merck Serono

Merck Serono is the division for innovative prescription
pharmaceuticals of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a global pharmaceutical
and chemical company. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Merck Serono
discovers, develops, manufactures and markets innovative small molecules and
biopharmaceuticals to help patients with unmet medical needs. In the United
States and Canada, EMD Serono operates through separately incorporated
affiliates.

Merck Serono has leading brands serving patients with cancer (Erbitux(R),
cetuximab), multiple sclerosis (Rebif(R), interferon beta-1a), infertility
(Gonal-f(R), follitropin alfa), endocrine and metabolic disorders (Saizen(R)
and Serostim(R), somatropin), (Kuvan(R), sapropterin dihydrochloride) as well
as cardiometabolic diseases (Glucophage(R), metformin), (Concor(R),
bisoprolol), (Euthyrox(R), levothyroxine). Not all products are available in
all markets.

With an annual R&D expenditure of more than EUR 1 billion,
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.

About Merck

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with
total revenues of EUR 7.7 billion in 2009, a history that began in 1668, and
a future shaped by approximately 33,600 employees in 64 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 www.merckserono.com
or www.merck.de

Merck Serono S.A. - Geneva, 9 Chemin des Mines, 1202 Genève, Suisse, Media relations, Tel: +41-22-414-36-00