Merck has committed to a €70m expansion of its ADC manufacturing capabilities at its Bioconjugation Centre of Excellence facility in St. Louis, Missouri, US.
Through this investment, the life science company will triple its existing capacity, while also bolstering its CDMO offering.
The investment coincides with Merck's efforts to grow its presence in the ADC manufacturing scene, and aims to attract new clients.
With its Bioconjugation Centre of Excellence, Merck will provide customers with support in early-stage and commercial bioconjugate manufacturing.
The expansion will involve:
- The construction of 3200m2 dedicated to process and analytical development, quality control, R&D, manufacturing and logistics
- The addition of novel laboratories
- Incorporation of a dedicated manufacturing buffer preparation facility
- The addition of a cold storage and a GMP-controlled room temperature warehouse
Notably, Merck was the first ADC CDMO to gain commercial approval for production in North America.
As well as the its recent expansions, Merck is currently dedicated to creating differentiated technologies and platforms that aim to enhance the future potential of the therapeutic modality.
Head of Life Science Services, Life Science business of Merck, Benjamin Hein, commented: "We are shaping tomorrow’s cancer care, today. With this investment, we are not just enhancing our capabilities; we are investing in our clients’ success by accelerating innovation and development to ultimately deliver novel therapies to patients more quickly,”
“ADCs represent a transformative approach to oncology, enabling targeted therapies that minimize damage to healthy tissues. As the market for this novel modality grows and the medical community adopts them as first-line treatments, it may mean that fewer patients need invasive treatments like chemotherapy and radiation that cause significant side effects.”