Beta-blockers
A collective term for similarly acting drug substances that act as inverse agonists on the body’s beta receptors and so inhibit the action of stress hormones (notably, norepinephrine and epinephrine). They lower the heart rate and blood pressure, make the heart beat less strongly, and reduce the heart’s excitability.
BH4
Co-enzyme (tetrahydrobiopterin): the effects of BH4 deficiency include reduced levels of dopamine and serotonin.
Biomarkers
The term refers both to substances in the body and cell properties. Biomarkers can help doctors to identify a patient’s disease. Certain genes tend to play a role in the treatment of cancers, in terms of whether they are “normal” (wild type) or have undergone transformation (mutant). A relatively simple test is usually done.
Capital spending ratio
Capital spending as a proportion of total revenues.
CEFIC
European Chemical Industry Council.
CHMP
Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use: a scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency. It prepares the Agency’s opinions and handles the authorization and risk assessment of medicinal products.
Credit facility
The financial scope up to which a bank has agreed to grant a loan to a borrower is referred to as a credit line or credit facility. A credit line is a revolving credit: the borrower can continuously draw funds and make payments until the term expires or the credit line is terminated.
DAX®
Deutscher Aktienindex (German stock index): Its value is based on the stock prices of the 30 largest German companies by trading volume and market capitalization.
EBIT
Earnings before interest and taxes. Equals the operating result plus exceptional items.
EBITDA
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization: depreciation and amortization are added back to EBIT.
EGFR
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor: It is upregulated in various tumor types and/or present in mutated form, resulting in uncontrolled growth and replication of tumor cells. Novel cancer therapies are aimed at blocking EGFR’s oncogenic signal and hence stopping tumor growth.
EMA (previously EMEA)
European Medicines Agency: an official body of the European Union, headquartered in London. It is responsible for evaluating and monitoring medicines and plays a key role in the marketing authorization of medicinal products.
Equity ratio
Indicator that shows equity capital in proportion to total capital, serving to evaluate the financial stability and independence of a comwpany.
FCR
Underlying free cash flow on revenues: FCR is calculated from the underlying free cash flow as a percentage of total revenues. This is a key performance indicator for steering the business.
FDA
Food and Drug Administration: U.S. government agency responsible for protecting and advancing public health, especially as concerns food and drugs.
Financial covenants
Financial figures stipulated in loan contracts to which the company must adhere during the duration of the loan.
First, second and third line therapy
First and second line therapies are curative in nature and therefore take precedence. Some patients derive little or no benefit from first and second line treatment. Patients who have not responded to the first two lines move on to a third line of treatment, which is palliative (i.e. it aims to relieve suffering).
Free cash flow
Sum of the net cash flow from operating activities minus investments in intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, acquisitions as well as investments in other financial assets, plus proceeds from the disposal of assets and changes in securities.
GDP
Gross domestic product – total value of all goods (products and services) intended for final consumption that are produced within a country’s borders in a given year.
Gearing
Ratio of net debt including pension provisions to net equity.
GHS
Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. An international standard system to classify chemicals, including labels and safety data sheets.
GPHF
Global Pharma Health Fund e.V. is a non-profit initiative created by Merck. The organization’s goal is to promote health care within the scope of development assistance, especially with respect to the fight against counterfeit drugs through the use of the GPHF-Minilab®.
GPHF-Minilab®
With the GPHF-Minilab®, the GPHF offers a unique mobile compact laboratory that is capable of testing the quality of drugs very quickly.
Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Most widely used accounting and reporting system for greenhouse gas emissions.
ICCA
International Council of Chemical Associations.
IMF
International Monetary Fund, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., is a United Nations organization.
Irinotecan
An antineoplastic (chemotherapy) drug used to treat cancer.
ISO 14001
This international environmental management standard specifies globally recognized requirements for an environmental management system.
KRAS
A recently identified biomarker that can show whether a patient with metastatic colorectal carcinoma is likely to respond to EGFR antibody therapy. This is done by testing the status of the KRAS gene in the tumor to see if it is normal (wild type) or abnormal (mutant). The KRAS acronym stands for Kirsten Rat Sarcoma.
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is an electronic semiconductor device. When an electric current passes through it in the flow direction, it emits visible light, infrared radiation (infrared diode) or ultraviolet radiation. The wavelength of this depends on the semiconductor material used and the doping level.
Liquid crystals (LC)
These specialty chemicals are used in LC displays (LCD), for example, in flat-panel televisions, notebooks, mobile telephones, and cameras. This is also the name of the Merck division that researches and markets liquid crystals.
LTIP
Long-term incentive plan: Performance-based remuneration component offered by Merck to eligible executives and experts.
LTIR
Lost time injury rate: indicator for workplace safety. The number of workplace accidents with one or more days of lost time per million hours worked
Lupus erythematosus (LE)
An autoimmune disease linked to inflammatory rheumatic disease and classified as a collagen disease. There are two main types: lupus of the skin, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).It may affect other organ systems apart from the skin and joints, e.g. the kidneys in lupus nephritis (LN).
Marketing and selling ratio
Marketing and selling expenses as a percentage of total revenues.
Metafolin®
Biologically active form of folate that occurs naturally in the human body and is utilized better by the body than folic acid. Folic acid and Metafolin® are important for cell division and blood formation and therefore the development and growth of new life.
Monoclonal antibodies
Highly specialized targeted antibodies synthesized using biotechnological methods. What makes them special is their ability to activate the body’s natural mechanisms to fight disease. Monoclonal antibodies have mainly been used for cancer treatment and to suppress adverse immune responses.
MUC1
Also known as PEM (polymorphic epithelial mucin), MUC1 is a glycoprotein group mucin embedded in cell membranes and occurring in all human organs. The MUC1 mucin is an established tumor marker. In oncology, this tumor marker is the starting point for several new cancer therapies.
OECD
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, with headquarters in Paris, is a forum of 30 countries, almost all of them industrialized.
OLED
Organic light-emitting diodes. New technology for displays and lighting used, for example, in mobile telephones, MP3 players, and since recently also in televisions and lamps.
OTC
Over-the-counter drugs is the term used for drugs that are available at stores and pharmacies without a prescription.
Praziquantel
A vermifuge used to fight flatworms, tapeworms and distoma including the schistosoma, the pathogen that causes the tropical disease schistosomiasis.
PS-VA
Polymer-stabilized vertical alignment: A polymer layer pre-aligns the molecules inside the display in a certain direction. In the black state, the liquid crystals are not exactly vertical, but slightly tilted: This allows the liquid crystals to switch more quickly. The light transmittance is higher, thus reducing the backlighting, one of the most costly components to produce.
Rating
Rating is an assessment of a borrower’s ability to pay. Borrowers are classified according to a bank’s own criteria (internal rating) or the criteria of international rating agencies such as Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s (external rating).
REACH
REACH stands for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals. This is an EU regulation that entered into force in mid-2007.
Research ratio
Research spending as a proportion of the total revenues of the company or division.
ROS
Return on sales: Ratio of operating result to total revenues. This is a key performance indicator for steering the business.
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharziosis, is a parasitic disease that is spread in warm lakes and ponds by snails that serve as intermediate hosts.
Somatotropin
A proteohormone occurring as a growth hormone in the human and animal organism. Somatotropin is essential to the achievement of normal height.
Total revenues
Sum of sales as well as royalty and commission income. Royalties are earned primarily through patents held by the Pharmaceuticals business sector.
Touch panels
Screens that are sensitive to touch, allowing users to perform operations at the touch of a finger, such as at kiosks.
Underlying free cash flow
Free cash flow adjusted for acquisitions and divestments
VA
Vertical alignment, a technology that orients the liquid crystals to lie nearly vertical to the glass plates when they are switched off. This significantly improves switching times and reduces dependency on viewing angle, while also considerably improving the contrast thanks to the almost perfectly vertical alignment.
VCI
Verband der Chemischen Industrie (German Chemical Industry Association) represents the economic-political interests of 1,600 German chemical companies.