Global Competition Celebrates Innovation and Inspiration of Multiple Sclerosis Community

GENEVA, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company Engages Global Community in International Search for Innovative Solutions to Live Better With Multiple Sclerosis

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced the launch of Real MS: Your Innovation, a global design competition searching for unique and innovative ideas that could help people overcome the daily challenges of life with multiple sclerosis (MS). Your Innovation is the second phase of the Real MS campaign, a global initiative giving a voice to those whose lives have been touched by MS, and celebrating their journeys, achievements and ideas for the future management of the disease.

Real MS launched in May 2010 with Real MS: Your Story, a global script writing competition that collected more than 100 powerful and inspiring stories of those living with or impacted by MS from around the world. The winning concept was developed into an international short film, MS: It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint, that shows how life with MS can be redefined in a positive and fulfilling way.

Your Innovation will search for new and creative ideas for adaptive physical products or online applications that could help people live better with MS. The winning innovation, selected by an international judging panel and voted on by the MS community, will be shared with the MS community later in 2011.

"Since 2010, Merck Serono has made a commitment through Real MS to provide a venue for the multiple sclerosis community to share their collective achievements, ideas and vision," said Dr. Roberto Gradnik, Executive Vice President for Neurodegenerative Diseases at Merck Serono. "The Your Innovation competition is the next step in this journey, through which we are celebrating the multiple sclerosis community's ability to adapt to the disease's unique challenges in a positive way."

The unpredictability of MS means that people have to reinvent their lives every day to overcome the daily struggles and reminders of their condition. For many people with MS, this often means adapting existing products or services in creative ways to help them live better with their disease. The Your Innovation competition celebrates this ongoing innovation and provides a venue for a collaborative dialogue about new ways to respond to the challenges of life with MS.

For more information on the Real MS campaign and Your Innovation, including terms and conditions of the competition, please visit the campaign website at www.realmsvoices.com. This site is not intended for use by residents of United Kingdom and Ireland.

About Real MS campaign

Real MS is a global education and awareness campaign designed to create a greater understanding of MS and stimulate a more hopeful message around the management of the disease. The first stage of the Real MS campaign was launched in 2010 with Your Story competition, a global script writing competition with the aim of developing a short film that shows how life with MS can be redefined in a positive and fulfilling way. To view the winning short film, please visit http://www.realmsvoices.com.

About multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory condition of the central nervous system and is the most common, non-traumatic, disabling neurological disease in young adults. It is estimated that approximately two million people have MS worldwide. While symptoms can vary, the most common symptoms of MS include blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the limbs and problems with strength and coordination. The relapsing forms of MS are the most common.

About Merck Serono

Merck Serono is the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a global pharmaceutical and chemical company. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Merck Serono discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines of both chemical and biological origin in specialist indications. In the United States and Canada, EMD Serono operates as a separately incorporated affiliate of Merck Serono.

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), (Egrifta(TM), tesamorelin), 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 over EUR 1bn, 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 rheumatology.

About Merck

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of EUR 9.3 billion in 2010, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by more than 40,000 employees in 67 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 http://www.merckserono.com or http://www.merck.de