Merck Invests More than € 300 Million in New Life Science Production Site in Korea
News Release
- Site to supply products to customers for development and production of biologics
- New Bioprocessing Production Center in Daejeon strengthens footprint of Merck in fast-growing Asia-Pacific region
- Investment to create up to 300 additional jobs
Darmstadt, Germany, March 20, 2024 – Merck invests more than € 300 million into a new Bioprocessing Production Center in Daejeon, South Korea. The new site is the largest investment by Merck's Life Science business sector in Asia-Pacific to date and demonstrates the company’s commitment to expanding its capacities in the fast-growing region. Merck expects the investment to create approximately 300 additional jobs by the end of 2028.
“The Asia-Pacific region is home to a large number of institutions that conduct leading-edge and innovative research, manufacturing and services in areas such as biotechnology, mRNA and gene therapy,” said Matthias Heinzel, Member of the Executive Board of Merck and CEO Life Science. “Expanding our presence in the region will bring us even closer to our customers in this evolving and dynamic market. Our goal is to foster deep collaboration to increase the speed in bringing new therapies to patients.”
The facility will support biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in process development, clinical research and commercial manufacturing of biologics. Biologics are derived from large and complex biological compounds and include products like vaccines, cell and gene therapies, or protein-based therapies, such as monoclonal antibodies. They are one of the fastest-growing class of drugs.
Merck’s new Bioprocessing Production Center will provide essential biotech products such as dry powder cell culture media, process liquids, pre-GMP small-scale manufacturing and sterile sampling systems. Covering an area of 43,000 square meters, the facility will include advanced production capacities, a distribution center and an automated warehouse.
Established in 1989, Merck Korea has been consistently driving dynamic growth of the science and technology industries with more than 1,700 employees across Life Science, Healthcare and Electronics. Merck Korea encompasses 13 sites in production and R&D including the M Lab™ Collaboration Center in Songdo, Incheon which serves biopharmaceutical companies in the region.
Merck’s new site in South Korea is part of a multi-year investment program. It aims to increase the capacity and capabilities of Merck’s Life Science business sector to support the growing global demand for critical drugs and to make significant contributions to public health. Since 2020, Merck has announced industrial capacity and capabilities expansion projects in Life Science throughout Europe, China, and the United States, of more than € 2 billion.
About Merck
Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. Around 63,000 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 2023, Merck generated sales of € 21 billion in 65 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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