Merck Canada
Merck Canada has been supporting innovations in science and medicine at the University of Toronto for nearly 40 years.
A leading developer of innovative medicines and vaccines, Merck Canada has supported an extraordinary range of important priorities at the University of Toronto since 1982. The company has funded research into neurodegenerative diseases, ophthalmology and pharmaceutical oncology and supported scholarships for students at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. It has also made investments in the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, the hematology and oncology postgraduate programs at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, as well as graduate scholarships in biosciences and biotechnology at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
In early 2020—on the heels of the World Health Organization’s declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic—Merck Canada committed $3 million towards the University of Toronto’s Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. With vaccines being developed at record speed to combat the virus, researchers at the Dalla Lana School knew that public education about their safety and efficacy would be key to supporting widespread uptake when the time came. Merck Canada’s support ensured they had the tools to support effective public education.
Merck’s investment includes generous support for the Centre’s Vaccine Confidence Innovation Fund, which aims to build vaccine confidence throughout Ontario and across Canada. The strategy is focused on the provision of evidence-based information about vaccine safety and efficacy targeting the general public, health providers, schools, government partners and other key stakeholders, with an emphasis on vulnerable groups at greatest risk of health challenges.
In addition, $1 million of Merck Canada’s extraordinary contribution towards the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases is earmarked to support a range of knowledge translation, public engagement and public education programs related to health, medicine and vaccines.
Partnering with U of T’s Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Merck granted $2.6 million to the Kind Faces Sharing Places project. Part of the Merck for Mothers initiative, the grant supports partnerships to reduce health disparities for Indigenous mothers and children in Ontario. Working with Well Living House, Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto and Nishnawbe Homes, the project offers social and health resources in a culturally appropriate manner to Indigenous communities.
As a leading supporter of the University’s efforts to change lives, transform health care and strengthen communities through the power of science and innovation, Merck Canada’s incredible history of generosity has built a legacy of impact through support of students, scholarship and research.