News Release

June 2, 2022

ON ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, ORGANON INTRODUCES GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) STRATEGY AND COMMITMENTS WITH PUBLICATION OF INAUGURAL ESG REPORT

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Report lays out blueprint for achieving Organon’s purpose and business imperatives to help women and girls achieve their promise through better health:

  • Launch of Her Promise ESG platform creates a framework by which the company will advance innovation and progress in women’s health and contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals  
  • Organon Her Promise Access Initiative set to prevent 120 million unintended pregnancies by 2030

Kirkland, Quebec, June 2, 2022 – Organon Canada Inc., an affiliate of Organon (NYSE: OGN), a global women’s healthcare company, which employs over 120 people across Canada, today announced the publication of the company inaugural Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report for 2021. The ESG report introduces the company’s ESG platform, known as Her Promise, and details how the company is working to help women and girls achieve the full potential of their promise through better health. The publication of the ESG Report and launch of Her Promise coincides with Organon’s one year anniversary and reflects the company’s vision to create a better and healthier every day for every woman in Canada and around the world, and to address disparities by broadening access to treatments to the underserved. The ESG Report was developed by Organon, Organon Canada Inc.’s parent company, to disclose the company’s priorities and areas of focus.

As the only global women’s healthcare company of its kind, Organon is well positioned to help address several current and growing women’s health challenges. For example, nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide – about 121 million in total – are unintended, including in Canada. According to a 2019 study, an estimated 218 million women and girls (ages 15-49) in low-and-middle income countries had an unmet need for modern contraception. In Canada, almost half of all pregnancies are unplanned.1 Through Her Promise, Organon is making focused investments and forming strategic partnerships with the goal of introducing and expanding access to health solutions to help improve women’s health and advance gender equity, inside and outside Organon.  Recently in Québec, Organon Canada worked with the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services towards giving women in the province access to more hormonal therapy options to treat symptoms from menopause. This was a result of women expressing their unmet medical needs earlier in the year in that sphere of their life and the company listening to be part of a solution.

“In just one year, Organon has made considerable progress in addressing gender-related disparities in health by listening to women and investing in areas where high unmet needs exist. Since our launch, we have focused on treatment gaps that need to be addressed, like unintended pregnancy, fertility and more, and will continue to strive to deliver innovation, improve access and expand choice for treatments areas that uniquely or disproportionately affect women,” says Kevin Ali, Organon’s Chief Executive Officer. “The goals stated in our first ESG Report create a roadmap for the future of how we will continue to propel forward and partner to transform the current women’s health environment.”

“Organon Canada will achieve its purpose by supporting women’s whole being, in addition to their reproductive health, and through the delivery of medicines, like biosimilars that treat diseases that impact women disproportionally,” says Michael Casia, President and Managing Director, Organon Canada. “Women present with and experience diseases differently than men, and we are committed to helping address their unmet medical needs today and into the future.”

On its one-year anniversary, Organon is making the following goals to achieve Her Promise:

  • To improve access to low-cost contraceptives in 69 of the world’s least developed countries. Through the Organon Her Promise Access Initiative, Organon is working with global organizations to provide family planning information, education and access to low-cost contraceptive options. Organon’s goal is to provide 100 million girls and women in low- and middle- income countries with affordable access to contraceptive options by 2030. 
  • To redefine and harness innovation in women’s health. Organon will dedicate a majority of its pre-clinical and clinical development activity toward the unmet health needs of women. Organon has already begun with development activities in high unmet need areas including postpartum hemorrhage, endometriosis, and pre-term labor.
  • Expand access to treatment options that help improve her health and help secure her promise. Working together with global partners, Organon plans to expand treatment options for post-partum hemorrhage in women, in both developed and developing markets. We will also seek to help address affordability of fertility treatments and access to education to decrease the unmet medical need in fertility.
  • Achieve balanced gender representation through all levels of Organon globally by 2030 and pay equity. Organon has had a strong start by launching with a Board of Directors that consists of accomplished individuals with exceptional skills and expertise, and also represents gender and racial diversity. Currently, Organon’s Board is the most diverse healthcare board on the S&P 500. At Organon Canada, 70 per cent of employees are women and 60 per cent of developmental opportunities, including promotions, were provided to women since its launch as a company. 
  • Aim to support the transition to a low carbon economy, with an ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions. We also aim to integrate water stewardship and circular economy principles into our business models. The report details concrete short- and mid-terms actions we will take to meet these long-term ambitions.
  • Uphold the highest levels of ethics and integrity throughout its business.

In addition, as part of its commitment to advancing gender equity through Her Promise, Organon has provided US $1.4M to Women Deliver to fund its Young Leaders Program and other advocacy work, as well as support the Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD2023). The funding will help Young Leaders across the world to achieve their advocacy goals in gender equality and health through financial resources, mentorship, and technical assistance.

“The Board is committed to achieving both Organon’s business goals as well as contributing to societal goals, and to continuing to drive the company’s ESG strategy,” says Carrie Cox, Board Chairman. “We are pleased to be in a position to publish a comprehensive ESG report just one year after the company’s establishment and highlight our purpose and goals in improving the health of women and girls.

The Board’s governance committee, called the ESG Committee, is comprised of five members and chaired by pharmaceutical industry veteran Robert Essner, all whom bring considerable expertise from across a variety of disciplines.

For more details on Organon’s ESG strategy, priorities, and initiatives, download the full 2021 ESG Report available here.

About Organon

Organon is a global health care company formed through a spin-off from Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, to focus on improving the health of women throughout their lives. Organon has a portfolio of more than 60 medicines and products across a range of therapeutic areas. Led by the women’s health portfolio coupled with an expanding biosimilars business and stable franchise of established medicines, Organon’s products produce strong cash flows that will support investment in innovation and future growth opportunities in women’s health. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialize their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast-growing international markets.

Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, world-class commercial capabilities, and approximately 9,500 employees with headquarters located in Jersey City, New Jersey.

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Reference: 1. SOGC, Unintended pregnancy – Pregnancy Info, Accessed May 2022