Millipore CTDMO Services Opens Facility in France
Millipore CTDMO Services, part of the Life Science arm of Germany’s Merck, has opened a commercial facility in France.
Merck
GSK Names Julie Brown as First Female CFO
From next year, GSK’s top management will be led by a double female team, a pioneering move for the global pharmaceutical industry. The UK drugs giant this week announced the appointment of Julie Brown, the first woman to be its chief financial officer.
Germany’s Merck Expands French Facility
German science and technology company Merck has announced plans to invest more than €130 million at its site in Molsheim, France, to expand capacities for single-use assemblies, a key technology for producing Covid-19 vaccines and other therapies.
Germany’s Merck to Acquire Mecaro’s Chemicals Arm
German chemicals, pharmaceuticals and life science group Merck has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the chemical business of Mecaro, a manufacturer of heater blocks for heating wafers in the semiconductor process or glasses in the LCD (liquid crystal display) process, along with chemical precursors for semiconductors.
Merck Germany Doubles HPAPI Potential
The Life Science business segment of German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences group Merck has widened its US plant for high-potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs) at Verona, near Madison, Wisconsin to 6,500 m2.
Proactive Supplier Risk Mitigation for Manufacturing and Testing Organizations
There is a new urgency in the market for manufacturers and testing organizations to be prepared for rapid, unexpected changes in material resource access, exacerbated by turbulent regional and global events. This focus is in addition to reinforcing routine risk mitigation activities around the raw material supply chain, adding to the relevance and impact of the topic.
Germany’s Merck Invests €440 million in Ireland
The Life Science segment of Germany’s Merck is investing around €440 million to increase membrane and filtration manufacturing capabilities in Ireland’s County Cork. The plans call for adding capacity at an existing plant in Carrigtwohill and building a new plant in Blarney Business Park.
Germany’s Merck to Expand Wuxi Production Site
Germany’s Merck has signed has an agreement with the Administrative Management Committee of Wuxi National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone to “significantly expand” the company’s first Asia-Pacific Mobius Single-Use manufacturing center in China.
Germany’s Merck Takes Lonza’s MAST Platform
Germany’s Merck has acquired Lonza’s Modular Automated Sampling Technology (MAST) platform for an undisclosed sum. The Darmstadt-based chemicals, pharmaceuticals and life science group said the deal will advance its bioprocessing portfolio and complement two earlier acquisitions in this field.
Germany’s Merck Closes Exelead Acquisition
Germany’s Merck has completed the acquisition of US biopharmaceutical CDMO Exelead for $780 million in cash following the fulfillment of all closing conditions. The takeover plans were announced in January this year.
Germany’s Merck Restructures Life Science Segment
German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences group Merck has restructured its life science business to promote growth and to better cater to the needs of an evolving global customer base. From Apr. 1, there will be four new units supporting the segment’s operating model.
Germany’s Merck Buys US CDMO Exelead
Germany’s Merck has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Exelead, a US biopharmaceutical CDMO, for around $780 million in cash. The Indianapolis, Indiana-based company specializes in complex injectable formulations, including Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP)-based drug delivery technology, which is key to mRNA therapeutics and vaccines for indications such as Covid-19.
Germany’s Merck Wins US Contract for Test Membranes
The Life Science business segment of Germany’s Merck has won a €121 million US government contract to build a new plant for its “Hi-Flow" Plus lateral flow membranes used in rapid diagnostic test kits, including those for Covid-19.
Germany’s Merck Ramps up Venture Capital
Germany’s Merck is allocating an additional €600 million to its strategic corporate venture capital arm M Ventures. The chemicals, pharmaceuticals and life sciences group said the funds will be deployed over the next five years.
MilliporeSigma to Help SaudiVax with Halal Vaccine
MilliporeSigma, part of the German Merck group, has agreed to provide CDMO services for SaudiVax. The Merck offshoot will design a multi-modality manufacturing plant for the Saudi company, which is pursuing the development and manufacture of halal biotherapeutics and vaccines. Financial terms of the arrangement have not been disclosed.
Merck Moves to Advance ADC Therapies
German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences group Merck has launched new technology and a capacity expansion to advance development of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapies. The initiatives, it said, underscore its continued investment in novel modalities and support efforts to double ADC and high-potent active pharmaceutical ingredient (HPAPI) capacity in the near future.
BioNTech Founders in German Research Hall of Fame
Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin, founders and managing board members of Mainz-based BioNTech, were inducted into the Hall of Fame of German Research (Hall of Fame der deutschen Forschung) on Oct. 21. The awards ceremony in Wiesbaden, Germany, was organized by German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences group Merck together with Manager Magazin.
Germany’s Merck Expands CDMO Footprint
Germany’s Merck has opened its second production facility for viral vectors at Carlsbad, California, a move the company said significantly expands its global CDMO footprint. The new €100 million plant will more than double the company’s existing capacity to support large-scale commercial and industrial manufacturing for viral gene therapy.
Merck Invests €28 Million at German Pigments Site
German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences group Merck has started up a second production line for silica-based effect pigments at its Gernsheim, Germany, site. The addition to its largest pigment facility worldwide will significantly increase production capacities for silicon dioxide flakes, a special substrate for its Colorstream and Xirona products used in automotive coatings and color cosmetics, the group said.
Artificial Intelligence for New Drug Design
Digital tools are a key to shortening the development of active pharmaceutical ingredients and thus market-ready drugs and therapies.
The Transition to Digitalization in the Pharmaceutical Industry
ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.
Merck Aims for Leadership in Science and Technology
German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences company Merck is aiming to lift group sales to about €25 billion by 2025 and up spending in its “Big 3” businesses of Life Sciences, Healthcare and Electronics as it aims to become the “world-leading science and technology company of the 21st century.”
Expert Statement: Michelangelo Canzoneri, Merck
ISPE and its members are developing the roadmap to introduce Industry 4.0, also called the Smart Factory, at the pharmaceutical industry as Pharma 4.0 – an operating model that is interconnected, meaning that the digital tools allow for a fully connected network to enable direct communication between all levels in an organization.
Merck in Two Bioelctronics Collaborations
German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences group Merck has signed two collaboration agreements in its new bioelectronics innovation field, which it said builds on and combines its experience and expertise in its Healthcare and Electronics business segments.
CO2-Neutral Chemical Industry
The European Chemical Industry has set out on an ambitious path to become carbon neutral. Germany, as one of the major chemical manufacturing nations, has committed to achieve this goal by 2050.
Expert Statement: Herwig Buchholz, Merck
The European Chemical Industry has set out on an ambitious path to become carbon neutral.
Merck Rebrands Performance Materials as Electronics
Germany’s Merck is changing the name of its Performance Materials business segment to Electronics to reflect the strategic realignment the worldwide group has undergone over the past several years and mark what it says is an additional milestone in its “Bright Future” transformation program, begun in 2018.
Germany's Merck Invests €18 million in Arizona Site
Germany’s Merck is investing €18 million at its new site in Tempe, Arizona, USA, including the purchase of the 28,000 m2 production facility leased by previous owner Versum Materials, a business it acquired In 2019.
Germany’s Merck to Expand Lipid Supply to BioNTech
Expanding its supply relationship with compatriot BioNTech, Germany’s Merck said it will “significantly accelerate” the supply of urgently needed lipids to vaccine maker BionTech at Mainz and increase the volume of deliveries up to the end of 2021.
Germany‘s Merck Acquires CDMO Amptec
German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences group Merck has acquired compatriot CDMO AmpTec for an undisclosed sum. The deal is designed to strengthen its life sciences’ arm’s capabilities to develop and manufacture mRNA products for applications in vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for Covid-19, among other diseases.
Merck Broadens US Life Science Footprint
German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences group Merck is broadening its manufacturing footprint in the US, splitting a planned €40 million capital investment between its production facilities in Danvers, Massachusetts, and Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
Merck Innovation Cup 2021
The Innovation Cup is an initiative for post-graduate students and young professionals in natural sciences, computer sciences, and business administration to attend a training program near Frankfurt, Germany.
Iktos and Merck Link on AI Drug Design
Iktos, a French company specialized in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for new drug design, has launched a collaboration with German pharmaceuticals, chemicals and life sciences group Merck.
Merck Expands OLED Output in Asia
Merck KGaA is expanding its production of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with a €20 million investment in Asia. Capacity additions are planned at sites in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, and Shanghai, China. The enhanced local capacities are intended to strengthen the German group’s position as a key supplier of high-purity OLED materials for panel makers in the region.
Merck KGaA and Mammoth Collaborate on Covid Test
Germany’s Merck KGaA has agreed to collaborate with Mammoth Biosciences on development, scale-up and commercial production of the US biotech’s CRISPR-based SARS CoV-2 diagnostic test. Mammoth recently secured funding from the US National Institute of Health’s RADx program to scale its CRISPR-based testing workflow.
