[Darmstadt, Germany] Merck, a global science and technology company, announced on October 30, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung BioLogics for a strategic alliance on biopharmaceutical manufacturing and biologics process development. The alliance aims to accelerate process development and clinical material production for small biotech start-ups focusing on novel drug development. Under the agreement, Merck will provide process development and support technical training, in addition to its Mobius® single-use to Samsung BioLogics.
“Our purpose is to solve the toughest problems in the industry by collaborating with the global scientific community,” said Udit Batra, Member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO, Life Science. “Our alliance with Samsung BioLogics is the ideal collaboration to advance development of potentially life-saving medicines.”
Merck has been the key solution provider for Samsung BioLogics’ 30KL facility and 152KL facility in Korea, and has trained Samsung BioLogics team on building a robust biologics development process.
The alliance is an extension of a MoU signed in 2014 intended to encompass a long-term supply agreement in which Merck provides raw materials for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
Merck’s portfolio of Mobius® single-use delivers greater flexibility and continuity for scale-up, reducing the need for retraining operators. These are some of the multiple reasons that companies such as Samsung BioLogics have become early adopters of Merck’s technologies.
At Merck’s M Lab™ Collaboration Centers, customers work with the company’s scientists and engineers in a shared exploratory environment to solve customers’ toughest biomanufacturing challenges and help accelerate development of new therapies. Merck has nine M Lab™ Collaboration Centers around the world, including one in the U.S. and one in Korea.
Merck is a premier supplier of process development and clinical-stage manufacturing solutions, materials and services needed to produce biopharmaceutical drugs. The company is committed to delivering superior bioreactor technology to manufacturers, several of which are already collaborating with the company in that space in North America, Europe and Asia.
In the growing biopharmaceutical market, manufacturers are moving toward end-to-end solutions — from process development and scale-up through to manufacturing for pre-clinical, clinical and commercial supply — as they seek to cut costs while increasing quality and efficiency. At the same time, single-use, disposable equipment and systems have increased in popularity because they offer many advantages over conventional stainless steel systems, such as improved batch success rates, less cross-contamination risk, decreased water and waste water requirements, shortened project duration and reduced project costs.
