Merck Expands Newest Biologics Testing Center in Shanghai

News Release

• Further develops its biosafety testing laboratories to meet local demand
• New labs complete 2nd phase of company’s € 29 million Biologics Testing Center opened in 2022
• Enhances BioReliance^® testing services portfolio in the Chinese market

Shanghai, China, November 21, 2023 – Merck, a leading science and technology company, has completed the second phase of its new € 29 million Biologics Testing Center in China adding 1,500 square meters to the lab, which opened last year. These are the first biosafety laboratories for Merck in this market, enabling clients to locally access a broad range of testing services for cell line characterization and lot release from pre-clinical development to commercialization.

“The opening of the facility deepens our partnership with our Chinese clients who are at the forefront of shaping modern medicine,” said Dirk Lange, Head of Life Science Services, Life Science business sector of Merck. “The Biologics Testing Center in Shanghai now provides critical local services backed by our more than 75 years of global experience in the testing market.”

The first phase of investment provides testing services for viral clearance studies, a critical step in drug development. The second phase adds capabilities for cell line characterization that support biopharma customers to ensure the safety, purity, and identity of their cell banks. The testing center also offers cGMP-compliant lot release testing for unprocessed and purified bulk harvest to meet requirements for biologics entering preclinical and clinical studies, as well as licensed biologics.

With the completion of phase two of the facility, Merck now offers a broad range of biosafety testing services for monoclonal antibodies, other recombinant proteins, and cell and gene therapies. The Shanghai facility joins Merck’s global biosafety testing network with sites in Singapore; Stirling and Glasgow, UK; and Rockville, MD, USA, and shares the same global expertise, standards, and quality systems.

Merck’s BioReliance^® testing services portfolio offers clients leading innovation to ensure the safety and quality of the biopharma industry’s supply chain. As a leader in the biosafety testing industry, Merck has more than 1,000 clients globally with industry-leading portfolio breadth for major modalities (mAbs, ADCs, CGT, mRNA, and vaccines).