Merck Expands Celonic’s Upstream Capabilities with Mobius® Single-use Bioreactors

• Sizes range from 50-liter to 2,000-liter manufacturing scale
• Industry-leading design offers flexibility, scalability and ease-of-use

Darmstadt, Germany, September 13, 2017 — Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that Celonic AG, a Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), is upgrading its manufacturing facility with five of Merck’s Mobius® single-use bioreactors.

Celonic, which produces biosimilars and also offers a cell line development platform, will add 50-, 200- and 2,000-liter bioreactors to its development and manufacturing facility in Basel, Switzerland. The upgrade will expand Celonic’s upstream capabilities, improving flexibility and scalability.

“Our extensive portfolio of single-use technologies allows us to support CDMO customers like Celonic as they adopt new technologies and expand their capabilities,” said Andrew Bulpin, Head of the Process Solutions business unit, Life Science at Merck. “Our new Mobius® single-use bioreactors will help Celonic streamline its processes and expand its capacity to better serve clients.”

“For our biotech customers, each step towards market authorization boosts the valuation of their assets, and that’s where Celonic’s breadth of services has been instrumental in creating tremendous value for our partners,” said Konstantin Matentzoglu, CEO, Celonic. “Merck’s Mobius® single-use bioreactors offer a flexible, scalable system that addresses our needs and those of our clients. With the addition of the 2,000-liter bioreactor, we are moving a step closer to our objective of serving customers with commercial manufacturing needs.”

Single-use, disposable equipment and systems have increased in popularity in the biopharmaceutical industry, as they offer many advantages over conventional stainless steel systems, such as improved batch success rates, less cross-contamination risk, decreased water and waste water requirements, shortened project duration and reduced project costs.

At the same time, biopharmaceutical manufacturers are moving toward end-to-end solutions — from process development and scale-up through to manufacturing for pre-clinical, clinical and commercial supply — as they seek to cut costs while increasing quality and efficiency.

Merck’s portfolio of 3- to 2,000-liter Mobius® single-use bioreactors delivers greater flexibility and continuity for scale-up, reducing the need for retraining operators. These are some of the multiple reasons that CDMOs such as Celonic have become early adopters of Merck’s technologies.

Merck is a premier supplier of process development and clinical-stage manufacturing solutions, materials and services needed for the production of biopharmaceutical drugs. The company is committed to delivering superior bioreactor technology to manufacturers, several of which are already collaborating with the company in that space in North America, Europe and Asia.

About Celonic

Celonic AG is a privately owned CDMO based in Basel, Switzerland. Celonic offers include comprehensive GMP development and manufacturing services for New Biological Entities (NBEs) and Biosimilars worldwide. Applying empathy, efficiency and excellence, Celonic goes one step beyond expectations in all business aspects in order to help its clients attain their goals more efficiently and reliably. Celonic’s services include the development of cell lines, production processes, as well as the GMP and non-GMP manufacturing of biopharmaceutical drug substances. In addition, Celonic licenses its proprietary CHOvolution™ cell line technology to clients, drug developer and service provider. Visit www.celonic.com to learn more.

メルクについて
Merck（メルク）はヘルスケア、ライフサイエンス、パフォーマンスマテリアルズの分野における世界有数のサイエンスとテクノロジー企業です。がんや多発性硬化症のためのバイオ医薬品を用いた治療法から、科学研究と生産に関する最先端システム、スマートフォンや液晶テレビ向けの液晶材料にいたるまで、約53,000人の従業員が人々の暮らしをより良くする技術の一層の進歩を目指しています。2017年は66カ国で153億ユーロの売上高を計上しました。

メルクは1668年に創業された世界で最も歴史の長い医薬・化学品会社で、 創業家が今でも、上場企業が率いるメルクグループの株式の過半数を所有しています。メルクの名称およびブランドのグローバルな権利は、メルクが保有しています。唯一の例外は米国とカナダで、両国ではEMDセローノ、ミリポアシグマ、EMDパフォーマンスマテリアルズとして事業を行っています。