Merck & Co. Inc announced that the company will take part of two new joint efforts led by the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the University of California San Francisco to move forward of getting rid of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.Daria Hazuda, Ph.D., vice president, Merck Research Laboratories said, "Collaboration has been the hallmark of much of the progress made against HIV since the virus was first identified 30 years ago. Continued collaboration is absolutely essential to better understand HIV reservoirs and identify potential approaches to the daunting challenge of eradicating HIV. Merck is honored and excited to participate in these important new undertakings."Merck has a potential upside of 11.6% based on a current price of $35.77 and an average consensus analyst price target of $39.93.