Germany’s Merck invests in further research partnerships in Israel

German pharma and chemicals firm Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) says it is increasingly counting on partnerships with Israeli biotech companies, as demonstrated by its cooperation with Metabomed and ChanBio, both of which have today joined the Merck Serono Israel Bioincubator.

Merck is already cooperating with multiple Israeli start-up companies such as Qlight Nanotech, as well as research institutes such as the Weizmann Institute of Science as it seeks innovations that could become the basis for future products.

“The innovative landscape of Israel fits in perfectly with our ‘Living Innovation’ claim,” said Stefan Oschmann, Merck’s executive board member responsible for the pharmaceuticals businesses, at Merck’s site in Yavne, Israel, adding: “In Israel we not only have a past which has led to some of Merck’s most important products like Rebif and Erbitux, but also a promising future because we continue to find very interesting and cutting-edge science and the support here in Israel to translate that science into products.”