Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Tuesday, December 08 2020 - 00:00
AsiaNet
Merck Expands Life Science Production Capacities in the United States
DARMSTADT, Germany, Dec. 7, 2020/PRNewswire-AsiaNet/--

--Expansions to significantly increase capacity by end of 2021 to meet 
unprecedented demand

--Combined expansion of Danvers, Massachusetts, and Jaffrey, New Hampshire, USA 
facilities to create nearly 700 new positions

--Business sector's announced 2020 investments total more than € 350 million 

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the broadening 
of its manufacturing footprint with a combined € 40 million investment at its 
production facilities in Danvers, Massachusetts, and Jaffrey, New Hampshire, 
USA. These sites supply critical products to customers developing lifesaving 
therapies, including Covid-19 vaccines, as well as provide products and 
services for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. These expansions will 
significantly increase capacity and output at these facilities by the end of 
2021 and 2022, respectively, and create nearly 700 new manufacturing positions.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1358444/Merck_Expansions.jpg 

"The global coronavirus pandemic has significantly increased demand for our 
single-use and virus filtration technologies, which we are supplying to more 
than 50 different companies working on Covid-19 vaccine candidates," said Chris 
Ross, interim head, Life Science, at Merck. "These investments will strengthen 
our global manufacturing footprint, allowing us to meet this unprecedented 
demand and help get lifesaving vaccines and therapies to more patients, 
faster." 

This expansion will add 6,000 square meters of space to the Danvers single-use 
assembly operation, adding to the existing 11,000-square-meter facility. The 
expansion will add the capacity needed to support the manufacturing of products 
across several portfolios, including Merck's Mobius(R) single-use consumables ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3002380-2&h=2969382871&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.merckmillipore.com%2FUS%2Fen%2FMobius-Single-Use-Manufacturing%2FyWmb.qB.tSUAAAFZ0i1iYtcT%2Cnav&a=Mobius%C2%AE+single-use+consumables 
). The total investment in Danvers is about € 21 million and will add 
approximately 400 jobs throughout 2021.

The Jaffrey expansion plans include adding 2,300 square meters to the existing 
24,000-square-meter facility. The additional capacity includes new production 
lines and equipment to support the manufacturing of filtration devices and 
membrane products, specifically Durapore(R) filters, Express(R) filters ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3002380-2&h=2690188241&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.merckmillipore.com%2FUS%2Fen%2F20160304_160901%3FRedirectedFrom%3D%252Fhigharea&a=Express%C2%AE+filters 
) and the Viresolve(R) product lines ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3002380-2&h=1363820788&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.merckmillipore.com%2FUS%2Fen%2Fproducts%2Fbiopharmaceutical-manufacturing%2Fdownstream-processing%2Fvirus-safety%2Fvirus-filtration%2F702b.qB.6KkAAAFAU.BkiQpx%2Cnav&a=Viresolve%C2%AE+product+line 
). These products are used to ensure the sterility of many lifesaving therapies 
and to remove viral contamination for a variety of therapies. The total 
investment in Jaffrey is about  (EUR) 18.5 million. This expansion is expected 
to bring nearly 275 roles by 2022, once the expansion is completed. 

These expansions join the Life Science investments announced in 2020 to further 
enhance capabilities and capacity in Buchs, Switzerland; Carlsbad, California, 
USA; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; and Darmstadt, Germany, broadening the company's 
global manufacturing footprint.  

More information on the company's contribution to the global Covid-19 response 
is available here: 
https://www.merckgroup.com/en/company/press/press-kits/corona-pandemic.html

All Merck news release are distributed by email at the same time they become 
available on the Merck website. Please go to: www.merckgroup.com/subscribe to 
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About Merck
Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, 
life science and performance materials. Around 57,000 employees work to make a 
positive difference to millions of people's lives every day by creating more 
joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene editing technologies 
and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling 
the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2019, Merck 
generated sales of (EUR)16.2 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to 
Merck's technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived 
since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of 
the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name 
and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the 
business sectors of Merck operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma 
in life science and EMD Performance Materials.

SOURCE:  Merck

CONTACT: Karen.tiano@milliporesigma.com
         +49-6151-72-44461
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