Merck Serono to expand biopharma R&D facility to accelerate innovation at Darmstadt headquarters

Merck will invest € 65 million in the laboratory building for R&D discovery technologies at Merck Serono

Merck Serono will expand its R&D facility in Darmstadt, Germany and is investing €65 million in a new laboratory building that will span more than 16,000 square metres and accommodate approximately 200 current employees whose focus will be accelerating innovation in R&D. The research building, when complete in fall of 2017, will be located within the new ‘Pharma Square’ on the Merck campus in Darmstadt.

At the cornerstone laying ceremony in Darmstadt, 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 Beckmann. “In addition, the new laboratory building is an important element in the expansion of our global headquarters.”

“Over the next few years, we are poised to deliver the innovation discovered in our own laboratories to patients in need around the world,” said Garijo. “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.