Merck Accelerates European Expansion of Its Single-Use Assembly Technology with New Facility in Molsheim, France

Darmstadt, Germany, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Merck, a leading global science and technology company, will add a single-use assembly production unit to its Life Science site in Molsheim, France. The company is accelerating the expansion of this critical technology across Europe with an investment of €25 million; the technology can be used to produce COVID-19 vaccines and other life-saving therapies. The Molsheim site will be Merck’s first manufacturing facility for these products in Europe. Other production sites are located in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA, and Wuxi, China.

Today, the project held a press conference in Molsheim, attended by EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and French Minister for Industry Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

“The pandemic has brought unimaginable challenges to the world. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Merck’s efforts in science and technology have made significant contributions. Our newly established European production facility will enhance the supply capacity for single-use systems, meeting the urgent needs of global vaccine and therapeutic substance manufacturers. Today’s announcement of our European expansion plan demonstrates Merck’s global commitment during and beyond the pandemic,” said Belén Garijo, Deputy Chair of the Executive Board and Chief Operating Officer of Merck KGaA.

The investment in Molsheim leverages modular building design and existing infrastructure, adding over 350 jobs and 1,700 square meters of ISO Class 7 or ISO Class 5 cleanrooms to enable seamless future expansion. The new unit will produce Mobius^®Single-use Set Products; This is Merck Mobius^®Part of the MyWay program. The new unit is scheduled to commence operations by the end of 2021.

The Molsheim site, Merck’s third-largest manufacturing facility globally, employs 1,700 staff from 32 countries and produces over 10,000 products. More than 85% of its output is exported to serve the global market. The site comprises three production departments dedicated to manufacturing and assembling products and solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturing processes, as well as application solutions for analytical use in clinical and industrial environments and for water purification systems.

“In recent years, many biopharmaceutical manufacturers have begun adopting single-use technologies to enhance flexibility, reduce costs, accelerate processes, and mitigate risks, thereby driving double-digit market growth in this segment. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend, with most production plans now incorporating single-use production models,” said Chris Ross, Interim Head of Merck’s Life Science business. “Our facility in Molsheim has served for many years as a global center of excellence for bioburden monitoring and water purification activities. With this new single-use product manufacturing division, we will expand critical capabilities to meet customer demands while creating new job opportunities for our local community.”

Recently, Merck announced expansion projects for its Life Science business units in Darmstadt, Germany; County Cork, Ireland; Buchs, Switzerland; Carlsbad, California, USA; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Jaffrey, New Hampshire, USA; and Danvers, Massachusetts, USA. At the latter site, Merck is currently working to double local production capacity for single-use products by the end of 2021. These expansion initiatives are part of Merck’s ambitious multi-year plan to enhance the industrial capabilities and capacity of its Life Science business, supporting the growing global demand for life-saving medicines and making a significant contribution to public health.