Merck KGaA's new Biotech Development Center moves closer

German science and technology company Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) has held a ceremony (pictured above) celebrating the topping-out of its Biotech Development Center, currently under construction in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.

According to Merck, the investment of 250 million euros ($296 million), previously announced in January 2020, will help to sustainably secure capacity and high agility to deliver clinical trial material, contribute to accelerated development timelines of new biological entities, and address the increasing manufacturing complexity of the next generations of biotech compounds in a cost-effective way.

"Commitment to speed up the availability of new medicines for patients with unmet medical needs, in particular in the area of cancer"Peter Guenter (second from right in above picture), a member of the executive board of Merck and chief executive of its Healthcare unit since the beginning of this year, said: “The Biotech Development Center reflects our commitment to speed up the availability of new medicines for patients with unmet medical needs, in particular in the area of cancer.