Merck Announces €70 Million Investment to Expand High-Purity Reagent Production in Nantong, China

NantongJune 29, 2023PR Newswire -- Merck, a leading global technology company, announced an investment of approximately 70 million euros to expand its Nantong Life Science Center located in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta. This expansion will significantly increase its high-purity reagent production capacity, providing thousands of tons of high-purity reagents annually for biopharmaceutical companies to use in quality control and testing. Merck signed a relevant cooperation agreement with the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Front row (from left to right): Qiu Tao, Head of Production Operations for Integrated Supply Chain, Life Science, Merck Group, Asia-Pacific Region; Cao Yanhui, Deputy Director of Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee; Back row (from left to right): Gao Fei, Director of Government Affairs, Life Science, Merck Group, Asia-Pacific Region; Pan Jianhua, Member of the Nantong Municipal Government and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Nantong Municipal People's Congress; Wu Xinming, Secretary of the Nantong Municipal Party Committee; Allen Guo, President of Merck China; Bao Delin, Deputy Secretary of the Working Committee of Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone and Director of the Management Committee; Gu Xiangyang, Head of Merck Nantong Life Science Center.

Merck Life ScienceBusinessJean-Charles Wirth, Global Head of Science and Lab Solutions, stated: "The continued growth of China's life science and biopharmaceutical industries has increased the demand for high-quality products and more resilient supply chains. To ensure a more seamless supply to our customers, we have accelerated our expansion plans in China. We will continue to support the life sciences industry and enhance our production capacity to meet customer demands for high-quality, trusted products."

Merck to Build New High-Purity Reagent Production Base at Nantong Life Science Center, Operations Slated for 2026. The production base will span 40,000 square meters, providing high-performance products for quality control and testing to customers in pharmaceutical and industrial sectors, including food and beverage. In 2016, Merck announced the investment in the establishment of the Merck Nantong Life Science Center, located in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone, one of Merck’s key bases. In addition to the Life Science Center, Merck has also established a Healthcare Pharmaceutical Production Base here for localized manufacturing or local repackaging of multiple drugs, including those listed in China's National Essential Medicines List. The Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone, under the jurisdiction of Nantong City in Jiangsu Province, was approved by the State Council on December 19, 1984, and is one of the first 14 national-level economic and technological development zones.

Bao Delin, Deputy Secretary of the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee: "As one of the major transportation hubs in the Yangtze River Delta region, Nantong has gradually grown into an innovative manufacturing base. The Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone is striving to take the lead in building a first-class economic development zone that integrates high-end industrial modernization, industrial-urban integration, and internationalization. The Nantong Life Science Center of Merck Group and this recent increase in investment mark another significant milestone, playing a crucial role in Nantong's progress toward innovative, sustainable, and high-quality development."

Merck Aims to Achieve €25 Billion in Global Sales by 2025. To reach this growth target, Merck plans to significantly increase its total investment for 2021-2025 compared to the level from 2016-2020. This latest investment in Nantong further supports Merck's strategy of diversifying its operations and enhancing supply chain resilience to meet the needs of its customer base. In 2022, Merck Life Science...BusinessInvested 29 million euros in establishing a biosafety testing laboratory center in Shanghai, and approximately 100 million euros in Wuxi to accelerate the manufacturing of its single-use technology products.

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About Merck

Merck is a global leading technology company focusing on three major fields: healthcare, life sciences, and electronic technology. More than 60,000 employees worldwide work for Merck, bringing positive impacts to millions of lives by creating more enjoyable and sustainable lifestyles. From advanced gene-editing technologies and discovering unique methods to treat challenging diseases, to enabling intelligent devices—Merck is everywhere. In 2022, Merck achieved total sales of 22.2 billion euros across 66 countries/regions.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have always been the key to Merck's technological progress and the secret to Merck's vitality since 1668. The Merck family, as the founder of the company, still holds the majority of Merck's shares. We are known as "Merck" globally, except in the United States and Canada. Merck's three major fields: healthcare, life science, and electronic technology are respectively referred to as "EMD Serono," "MilliporeSigma," and "EMD Electronics" in these two countries. Merck has a 90-year development history in China, with nearly 5,000 employees currently, and 21 registered companies in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Wuxi, Suzhou, and Nantong.