Merck Serono To Expand Biotech Center

Merck Serono recently held a cornerstone ceremony at the Merck Serono Biotech Center (MSBC), its production site in Corsiersur-Vevey, Switzerland, to mark the expansion of the site. The expansion will enable the production of greater quantities of Erbitux, in order to meet growing patient needs, as well as the production of potential future treatments in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases currently under clinical development. Erbitux, Merck Serono’s monoclonal antibody for the targeted treatment of colorectal and head and neck cancers, is currently available in around 70 countries.

“The expansion of the Merck Serono Biotech Center embodies our company’s primary commitment to bringing therapeutic innovations to patients with serious unmet medical needs,” said Elmar Schnee, general partner and board member of Merck KGaA and president of Merck Serono. “This investment will cement our company’s position as a leader in biotechnology, while contributing to the local economy with the creation of more than 200 new jobs, and its construction will create business opportunities for local companies.”

Hanns-Eberhard Erle, executive vice president Technical Operations of Merck Serono, added, “This expansion underscores our commitment to excellence at all levels and will serve as a catalyst towards our goal of becoming a responsible world leader in providing specialist therapies. Through efficient manufacturing processes to scale up the production and the use of state-of-the-art technologies, the Merck Serono Biotech Center will continue to be one of the top centers of excellence for biotechnology in the world.”

Two new dedicated production suites with 120,000 liters of bioreactor capacity, plus a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment station and a logistic center, will be added to the existing facilities by the end of 2010. After inspection by worldwide health authorities, including the EMEA and Swissmedic, the production of Erbitux is expected to start at the MSBC in 2012.