Merck & Co., Inc., known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the establishment of an Asia Research & Development (R&D) headquarters for innovative drug discovery and development located in Beijing, China. The new facility is part of a $1.5 billion commitment the company has made to invest in R&D in China over the next five years.
"The establishment of the MSD Asia R&D headquarters represents an important milestone as we implement our strategy of building capabilities, and relationships to succeed in fast growing geographic regions," said Peter S. Kim, Ph.D., president, Merck Research Laboratories. "By strategically locating in China, we are able to complement our existing R&D capabilities, and facilitate new collaborations with scientists in the region and across emerging markets." Located in Wangjing Park, one of Beijing's rapidly expanding science and technology parks, the facility will consist of 47,000 square meters of office and laboratory space. The first phase of construction, scheduled to be completed by 2014, will provide capacity for approximately 600 employees working in the areas of drug discovery, translational research, clinical development, regulatory affairs and external scientific research programs.
"Merck/MSD has a proud legacy of translating scientific breakthroughs into novel medicines and vaccines with proven ability to impact global human health," said Michel Vounatsos, chairman and president, MSD in China. "We are immensely proud of the impact that MSD's medicines and vaccines have had on improving health for the people of China as we have grown our business here, and are we eager to build on this legacy by directly investing in R&D here in China to bring forward more innovations that can help people in China and around the world." Merck conducts research in a broad range of therapeutic categories including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in China. The company's global scientific strategy is focused on retaining deep internal therapeutic area and functional expertise in core therapeutic areas while strategically collaborating to access external innovation.
Merck also maintains its commercial headquarters for MSD in China in Shanghai and has manufacturing capabilities at other locations throughout China.