Germany’s Merck is investing more than €290 million in its US biosafety testing capacity at its Rockville, Maryland, campus. The largest investment in contract testing in the group’s history will create more than 500 new jobs.

Merck’s investments in Rockville and other sites across its global network will help meet growing demand for the robust testing studies that biologics manufacturers depend upon to comply with stringent regulatory guidelines, said group CEO Belén Garijo.

Biosafety testing and analytical development are critical and fundamental requirements of the drug development and commercialization process to ensure the safety of medicines, Matthias Heinzel, CEO Life Science, noted, adding that Rockville has a long track record of testing for both traditional and novel therapies.

The new 23,000 m² facility in Maryland, a US biologics hub, will house biosafety testing, analytical development, viral clearance suites and cell bank manufacturing services. Currently, about 600 employees work at the site. The new jobs will be added during the four year-expansion process.

Merck’s BioReliance contract testing portfolio provides best-in-class biosafety testing and analytical development methods for both traditional and novel therapies, the group said.

Its Millipore CTDMO Services arm’s offerings span pre-clinical development to commercial manufacturing across multiple modalities including mAbs, highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients, antibody-drug conjugates, viral vector therapies, mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist