Privacy Policy
MSD’S ONLINE PRIVACY COMMITTMENT TO YOU
We understand and respect that your privacy is important to you. We use and share personal information that you provide online only in ways that we tell you about. We secure personal information that you provide online to prevent it from being used and shared for other purposes. For more details, please read our Internet Privacy Policy below or contact us.
MSD Pharma (Singapore) Pte Ltd offers online resources designed to provide health, medical, and product-related information and services, as well as corporate and financial news and employment information. In addition, some of our Web sites enable qualified professionals to place orders for our pharmaceutical and vaccine products, to apply for grants, or to contribute to clinical studies.
Respect for the privacy of personal information about you is very important to us. MSD Web sites that display this privacy policy (“policy”) are committed to collecting, maintaining, and securing personal information about you in accordance with this policy, as well as applicable laws, rules and regulations. This policy applies to personal information (as defined below) collected from MSD online resources and communications (such as Web sites, e-mail, and other online tools) that display a link to this policy. This policy does not apply to personal information collected from offline resources and communications, except in cases where such personal information is consolidated with personal information collected by MSD online. This policy also does not apply to third-party online resources to which MSD’s Web sites may link, where MSD does not control the content or the privacy practices of such resources.
Please read this policy carefully. Should you have any questions about this policy or our data collection, use and disclosure practices, please contact us at the address below that is most relevant to you.
HOW DOES THIS PRIVACY POLICY DEFINE “PERSONAL INFORMATION”?
The term “personal information” as used throughout this policy, applies to any information or set of information that identifies or that is used by or on behalf of MSD to identify an individual.
HOW DOES MSD COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION ONLINE?
MSD collects personal information online through Web sites and other online resources. MSD also offers online resources in collaboration with other online service providers, from which MSD may receive personal information about users of such resources. These online collaborations are governed by contracts that require personal information to be protected appropriately. Individuals may access many parts of our Web sites without disclosing any personal information. There are two methods that MSD uses to collect personal information online:
(1) Information that you provide
MSD collects personal information and other data that you may enter into forms or data fields on our Web sites. Such information may include, but not be limited to, contact information (such as your name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, user ID and password), date of birth, professional credentials, hobbies and interests. MSD may also collect health information about you that you provide by responding to our questions and surveys.
(2) Information collected from your computer or other electronic device
Some of our Web sites and other online resources use tracking technologies, such as cookies, to provide additional functionality that enables you to use these resources more effectively. MSD uses tracking technologies in ways that do not identify you personally, such as to track accurately numbers of users or referring sites to our online resources, or to remember whether you have identified yourself as a healthcare professional or a resident of a particular country.
In some cases, MSD may use tracking technologies in ways that identify you personally, but only after you have entered personal information into a form or data field on our Web sites, or where we have registered you to use our online resources by providing a user ID and password based on information validated through other offline interactions with you. We may use tracking technologies to remember your personal preferences and selections, such as personal information that you have entered into data fields on our Web sites, answers that you have provided in response to our surveys, or sections of our Web sites that you visit frequently. You may choose whether or not you want MSD to use tracking technologies to remember you, and/or to provide additional personalized services to you. If you want to limit data collection through tracking technologies, please refer to your choices as described below.
WHAT ARE COOKIES?
A cookie is a small data file that is sent by Web servers to your computer’s hard drive, where your Internet browser files are kept. Cookies enable Web sites to store small bits of information on your computer and retrieve that information at a later time. MSD uses two types of cookies: session cookies, which are temporary cookies that are erased from your computer’s memory when you close your Internet browser or turn your computer off, and persistent cookies, which exist on your computer’s hard drive until they expire, unless you delete them at an earlier time.
WHY DOES MSD COLLECT, USE AND DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION?
MSD collects personal information online as necessary to enable individuals to register for, customize and personalize certain of MSD’s online resources and communications. MSD uses personal information collected online to provide products, services and features that individuals have requested; for example, educational literature and related information about MSD’s pharmaceutical business, e-mail programs, tools, quizzes, questionnaires, and surveys. MSD analyzes personal information collected online to identify and offer additional services and promotions that we believe you might find interesting. MSD evaluates use of some online resources and communications with non-identifiable information only. MSD also may use personal information to audit its online resources for authorized access and security.
DOES MSD CONSOLIDATE PERSONAL INFORMATION?
Consistent with the purposes identified and standards set within this policy and other applicable privacy notices that have been provided, in some cases MSD consolidates and uses personal information that individuals share with MSD through various services and channels, such as the telephone, surveys, Web sites and other online resources and communications, in order to enhance the quality of services that we offer.
WHAT CHOICES DO I HAVE ABOUT HOW MSD COLLECTS, USES AND DISCLOSES PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ME?
You have three categories of choices. These include:
(1) No personal information collection
You may choose not to provide any personal information to MSD online by electing not to enter any personal information into a form or data field on our Web sites, and by not using any personalized services provided by our online resources. However, some of our online resources are available only to individuals who provide personal information or who use personalized services.
(2) Limitations and options regarding uses and disclosures for other purposes
Some MSD online resources may request your permission to use and disclose personal information about you in order to add you to our contact lists, and to identify and offer additional services and promotions that we believe you might find interesting. You can limit the use of personal information about you by checking or un-checking options provided at the time that you enter that information.
(3) Limitations and options on tracking
MSD online resources that use tracking technologies, such as cookies, to remember your personal preferences and selections, enable you to choose whether you want MSD to use such technologies to remember you, or to provide additional services to you, by checking or un-checking options provided during registration, or at the time that you enter personal information into forms or data fields. Our online resources do not limit non-identifiable uses of tracking technologies for individual users. Individual users can control the use of certain tracking technologies, such as cookies, through most Internet browsers. Some Internet browsers enable you to limit or disable the use of cookies for individual Web sites. Other browsers allow you to select cookie settings for all Web sites that you visit. If you are concerned about the use of cookie technology, please read our section above on “Information collected from your computer or other electronic device” to understand the ways that MSD uses tracking technologies. If you limit or disable cookies, certain functions of our Web sites may not work properly, including access to some of our registration-based Web sites.
WHO WILL HAVE ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ME?
Personal information about you will be accessible to MSD, including its subsidiaries, divisions and groups worldwide, and to individuals and organizations that use personal information solely for and at the direction of MSD. Uses and disclosures of personal information by external individuals and organizations acting on MSD’s behalf are governed by contracts that require personal information to be protected appropriately. Personal information about you only will be used and disclosed by MSD and individuals and organizations working on its behalf, in a manner consistent with this policy, other applicable privacy notices, and as explicitly permitted or required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
DOES MSD SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES?
In general, MSD does not sell personal information about you, however, circumstances may arise where MSD may, for business reasons, decide to reorganize or divest its business through sale, merger or acquisition. In these circumstances, personal information may be shared with actual or prospective purchasers. MSD will obtain written assurances that personal information will be protected appropriately in these circumstances. Except where explicitly permitted or required by law, or provided in this policy, personal information about you will not otherwise be shared without your permission.
HOW DOES MSD SECURE PERSONAL INFORMATION?
MSD will take reasonable steps to protect personal information as it is transmitted from your computer to our online resources and servers, as well as to protect personal information in its possession from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. It is your personal responsibility to secure your own copies of your passwords and related access codes for our online resources.
HOW DOES MSD PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF CHILDREN?
In general, MSD Web sites are not directed at children and most of the online services that we offer are designed for individuals who are 18 years of age or older. Where requests for information about a medication are permitted by law, individuals requesting information about a medication that is indicated for use in children must be 18 years of age or older.
This subsection of our policy only applies to MSD Web sites that provide optional features for children. It is not applicable to our other Web sites and online resources.
FOR KIDS ONLY
In some cases, MSD Web sites provide options for children under the age of 13. Most of these optional services do not collect personal information. Where these optional services do collect personal information about children, we require parental consent for children to participate in these optional services. Requests for parental consent explain how we collect, use and disclose personal information about children, and include an opportunity for parents to prevent collection, use and disclosure of information about their children.
MSD collects only necessary personal information from children, and uses personal information about children only to provide requested services. Unless we have prior parental permission, we do not use or disclose personal information about any child to third parties that are not working on MSD’s behalf. If, at any time, a parent withdraws his or her consent to our use or disclosure of personal information collected from his or her child, we will use reasonable efforts to promptly remove such information from our database.
We do not request that children under the age of 13 disclose more personal information than is necessary in order to participate in any online service. Should a child whom we know to be under 13 send personal information to us, we will use that information only to respond directly to that child to inform him or her that we must have parental consent before receiving information about him or her.
HOW MAY I ACCESS AND CORRECT PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ME?
To gain access to personal information about you collected online, and to keep it accurate, complete and current, you may contact us at the address most relevant to you. Where offered, you also may update personal information about you online by modifying information that you previously have entered into forms or data fields on our Web sites. Where permitted by law, your ability to access and correct personal information will be limited where access and correction would: inhibit MSD’s ability to comply with a legal or ethical obligation, inhibit MSD’s ability to investigate, make or defend legal claims, result in disclosure of personal information about a third party, result in breach of a contract or disclosure of trade secrets or other proprietary business information belonging to MSD or a third party.
WHAT IS MSD’S CONTACT ADDRESS FOR PRIVACY POLICY QUESTIONS?
Should you have questions about this policy or MSD’s information collection, use and disclosure practices, you may contact us at the address most relevant to you. You may access this list of addresses online. When you contact us, please note the name of the Web site or other online resource to which you provided the information, as well as the nature of the information that you provided. We will use reasonable efforts to respond promptly to requests, questions or concerns you may have regarding our use of personal information about you. Except where required by law, MSD cannot ensure a response to questions or comments regarding topics unrelated to this policy or MSD’s privacy practices.
HOW WILL I KNOW WHETHER MSD HAS UPDATED THIS POLICY?
MSD may update this policy periodically. MSD reserves the right to modify, add or remove portions of this privacy statement at its discretion. If we decide to change this policy, we will post those changes at this site so you always will know what information we gather, how we might use that information, and whether we will disclose it to anyone. This policy was last updated on 28 February 2018.