Merck Expands End-to-End Biodevelopment Centers in North America, China and Europe

• Global expansion to meet strong market demand
• Biodevelopment centers in Boston, Mass. and Shanghai, China feature full suite of Merck technologies and services
• New process development centers and full single-use GMP facility in France to accelerate development of biologics

Darmstadt, Germany, January 10, 2017 — Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the expansion of its end-to-end biodevelopment centers to meet increasing customer demand for its turnkey portfolio of bioprocessing products, manufacturing capabilities and industry leading technological expertise.

The expansion, which includes the opening of two new process development centers in the U.S. and China, follows the commercial success of Merck’s biodevelopment center in Martillac, France. The two new units will be located in close proximity to customers in the Shanghai and Boston metropolitan areas. Each will provide a full range of process development capabilities and services. This includes cell line development services, both upstream and downstream process development, as well as non-GMP clinical production.

“We are seeing an increasing global demand for end-to-end process development solutions and Merck offers a one-stop shop for biopharma customers,” said Udit Batra, Member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO, Life Science. “This expansion reinforces our position as the premier supplier of all process development and clinical stage manufacturing solutions, materials and services needed for the production of biologics. This is a strategic, high-potential investment for Merck specifically designed to meet customer needs on three continents.”

Merck’s biodevelopment center in Martillac, France, is a fully operational single-use, GMP facility for manufacturing clinical stage batches. Equipped with a full suite of Merck technologies, including the 2000 liter single-use Mobius® bioreactor, Martillac offers biopharma companies a complete solution to support their clinical development programs.

Merck’s end-to-end offering delivers important benefits and addresses key challenges for biopharmaceutical companies at all stages of molecule development and commercialization in any geography. In addition to the Mobius® bioreactor, the end-to-end portfolio includes solutions such as Lynx® CDR, Viresolve® Process Area Modules, Pellicon® and Centinel™ Intelligence Virus Defense.

Early-stage companies with limited resources and infrastructure benefit from a partner with strong expertise and experience developing processes and GMP clinical manufacturing to help accelerate early clinical development programs. Companies in more advanced stages need to overcome the challenges of moving from late phase clinical development into commercial manufacturing, accelerating availability of affordable life-enhancing drugs. With an end-to-end approach, Merck can facilitate and accelerate scaling and technical transfer of an entire process to a new location.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science, and electronics. Around 58,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene-editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck generated sales of € 17.5 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics.