Merck KGaA is a German multinational chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company headquartered in Darmstadt, with around 40,000 employees in around 70 countries. Merck was founded in 1668 and is the world's oldest operating chemical and pharmaceutical company.Merck operates mainly in Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and Latin America. It has major research and development centres in Darmstadt, Boston, Tokyo and Beijing.