The investment will cover a new building dedicated to Merck biotech medicines destined for more than 150 countries, helping to meet increasing patient needs for flagship medicines such as fertility treatment Gonal-f®, newly launched therapies such as cancer drug Bavencio® and potential future products currently in clinical development. The new building, expected to be completed in 2020, will be equipped with cutting-edge technologies dedicated to aseptic filling and quality control, with an innovative design and a flexible operations model to deliver increased productivity.
“This investment reflects our commitment to ensuring that our medicines always meet the highest quality standards and are readily available to patients all over the world whenever they need them,” said Belén Garijo, Member of the Executive Board of Merck and CEO Healthcare. “It is an expression of our confidence in the future growth of our Healthcare business sector.”
Expanding at the heart of the Health Valley
“With this latest investment, Merck is taking one step further towards a strong positioning of the canton of Vaud as a Health Valley, which already includes 360 companies, 400 laboratories and 20,000 jobs,” says Philippe Leuba, State councillor for the canton of Vaud.
With the sites of Aubonne and nearby Vevey, Switzerland is Merck’s prime hub for manufacturing biotech medicines. With this latest expansion, Merck will have invested more than 1 billion francs (€800 million) in Switzerland over the past ten years, reflecting the strategic importance of the country, where it employs 2,300 employees across 11 locations.
