Merck Expands Biologics Testing Center in China to Support Local Biopharma Innovation

Merck Expands Biologics Testing Center in China to Support Local Biopharma Innovation

(IN BRIEF) Merck has completed the second phase of its new €29 million Biologics Testing Center in China, adding 1,500 square meters to the facility. This expansion includes the first biosafety laboratories for Merck in the Chinese market, enabling clients to access a wide range of testing services locally. The facility supports cell line characterization and lot release testing for biopharma customers from pre-clinical development to commercialization. The completed center offers biosafety testing services for monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, cell therapies, and gene therapies. It aligns with Merck’s global biosafety testing network and maintains the same global standards and quality systems.

(PRESS RELEASE) DARMSTADT, 22-Nov-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Merck, a leading science and technology company, has completed the second phase of its new € 29 million Biologics Testing Center in China adding 1,500 square meters to the lab, which opened last year. These are the first biosafety laboratories for Merck in this market, enabling clients to locally access a broad range of testing services for cell line characterization and lot release from pre-clinical development to commercialization.

“The opening of the facility deepens our partnership with our Chinese clients who are at the forefront of shaping modern medicine,” said Dirk Lange, Head of Life Science Services, Life Science business sector of Merck. “The Biologics Testing Center in Shanghai now provides critical local services backed by our more than 75 years of global experience in the testing market.”

The first phase of investment provides testing services for viral clearance studies, a critical step in drug development. The second phase adds capabilities for cell line characterization that support biopharma customers to ensure the safety, purity, and identity of their cell banks. The testing center also offers cGMP-compliant lot release testing for unprocessed and purified bulk harvest to meet requirements for biologics entering preclinical and clinical studies, as well as licensed biologics.

With the completion of phase two of the facility, Merck now offers a broad range of biosafety testing services for monoclonal antibodies, other recombinant proteins, and cell and gene therapies. The Shanghai facility joins Merck’s global biosafety testing network with sites in Singapore; Stirling and Glasgow, UK; and Rockville, MD, USA, and shares the same global expertise, standards, and quality systems.

Merck’s BioReliance® testing services portfolio offers clients leading innovation to ensure the safety and quality of the biopharma industry’s supply chain. As a leader in the biosafety testing industry, Merck has more than 1,000 clients globally with industry-leading portfolio breadth for major modalities (mAbs, ADCs, CGT, mRNA, and vaccines).

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About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. More than 64,000 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 providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2022, Merck generated sales of € 22.2 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 MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare, and EMD Electronics in electronics.

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SOURCE: Merck