Merck Serono to invest Euro 65 mn for R&D facility expansion in Germany

Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck, will expand its R&D facility in Darmstadt, Germany with an investment of Euro 65 million. The company will set up a new laboratory building that will span more than 16,000 square meters and accommodate approximately 200 current employees whose focus will be accelerating innovation in R&D.
 
At the cornerstone laying ceremony in Darmstadt today, Belén Garijo, Executive Board Member of Merck and CEO Healthcare, and Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board of Merck and besides others with responsibility for Site Operations in Darmstadt, emphasised the significance of this expansion and investment into innovation as a driver of future growth for Merck.
   
“When complete in 2017, we will offer our employees in research an open and modern environment that fosters collaboration and innovation across disciplines. With this building, we are sending out another signal that the Darmstadt site will continue to serve as a core R&D hub for Merck,” said Kai Beckmann, member of the executive board of Merck.
 
Belen Garijo, executive board member of Merck and CEO Healthcare, opined, “Over the next few years, we are poised to deliver the innovation discovered in our own laboratories to patients in need around the world. By continuing to invest in R&D with the expansion of our scientific infrastructure in Darmstadt, we are creating new opportunities for future discoveries that will bring value to patients and to Merck.”
 
The new building will unite different functions within R&D discovery technologies at Merck Serono, including molecular pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, molecular interactions and biophysics, protein engineering and antibody technologies, and protein and cell sciences.
 
The research building, when complete in fall of 2017, will be located within the new Pharma Square on the Merck campus in Darmstadt. Merck is thus uniting a significant part of its R&D activities in a single area, creating ideal conditions for the advancement of its biopharmaceutical pipeline.
 
Approximately 2,000 scientific and clinical development professionals work across Merck Serono’s four R&D hubs in Darmstadt (Germany), the largest R&D site; Boston (US); Tokyo (Japan); and Beijing (China). The core areas of R&D focus for Merck Serono are oncology, immuno-oncology, and immunology.