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Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced the start of construction for a $1 billion, 470,000-square-foot state-of-the-art biologics center of excellence in Wilmington, Delaware.
A cornerstone of Merck’s continued commitment to investing in American innovation and infrastructure, Merck Wilmington Biotech will comprise laboratory, manufacturing and warehouse capabilities to enable the launch and commercial production of next-generation biologics and therapies including potent antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), reinforcing Merck’s focus on expanding and diversifying its pipeline.
The site will also have the capability to manufacture Keytruda (pembrolizumab), and our intent is to establish it as the future US home for producing Keytruda for US patients. This is part of a significant investment to not only bring the world’s best-selling medicine closer to the American patients who rely on it, but to also establish a home for our biologics portfolio of products serving US patients. Merck is planning further expansion beyond the initial investment at the site to continue to serve our growing biologics pipeline.
“The Merck Wilmington Biotech site represents our continued commitment to growing our investments in US manufacturing and has the potential to create thousands of high-paying American jobs while ensuring that we can produce and distribute products close to patients right here in the US,” said Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck.
The new facility, located at Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park (CRISP), will help foster growth in Wilmington’s biotechnology sector, creating more than 500 full-time roles and roughly 4,000 construction jobs. The laboratory component is expected to be fully operational by 2028, with production of investigational compounds anticipated to start by 2030. Potential further expansion of the site would create an additional 1,500 full-time roles and 26,000 construction jobs.
“This new site in Delaware is on the cutting edge of innovation, helping lead the way as we transform medicine and technology,” said Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer. “Merck is pioneering the next generation of care right here in Wilmington, and they couldn’t have picked a better place to do it. The positive impact this will have on Wilmington and the state of Delaware is exciting, and this is the just the beginning.”
With proximity to Delaware and Pennsylvania universities, Merck Wilmington Biotech will also attract talented students and professionals, supporting community growth and development. The site’s proximity to Merck’s existing facilities across neighbouring New Jersey and Pennsylvania will expand its nexus of talent and create broad and engaging opportunities for current and future Merck team members.
“The decision to build a new biologics facility in Wilmington demonstrates our commitment to advancing US manufacturing and partnering in communities where our employees live and work,” said Sanat Chattopadhyay, executive vice president and president, Merck Manufacturing Division. “As a hub for life science, research and development, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, CRISP offers unparalleled opportunities for future expansion.”
For more than 130 years, Merck, a leading American biopharmaceutical company, has been committed to saving and improving lives by developing and delivering life-changing medicines and vaccines to treat diseases in both humans and animals.
Since the advent of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Merck has allocated more than $12 billion to enhance our domestic manufacturing and research capabilities, with additional planned investments of more than $9 billion over the next four years:
• In March, Merck announced the completion of construction on a $1 billion, 225,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility to expand vaccine production capacity in Durham, North Carolina, generating nearly 400 full-time roles and roughly 4,000 construction jobs.
• The company plans to invest $3.5 billion in biologics and small molecule manufacturing sites and capabilities in the US, creating an anticipated 650 additional full-time roles.
• Our efforts across the US are forecasted to create more than 37,600 construction-related employment opportunities by 2028.
Merck remains committed to bolstering the communities in which we operate through substantial investments in innovation in US manufacturing and research and development, investing approximately $3 billion in New Jersey and Pennsylvania alone since 2018. In that time, we have created more than 7,500 full-time US-based meaningful employment opportunities, a nearly 26% increase in our workforce. We also boast a robust network of US-based Animal Health sites that manufacture a broad portfolio of vaccines and large molecule therapies made end to end in the US.
We are committed to continuing our efforts to stimulate economic growth in the US, allowing for the domestic production and distribution of medicines and vaccines to patients here and around the world.
Keytruda is an anti-programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) therapy that works by increasing the ability of the body’s immune system to help detect and fight tumour cells. Keytruda is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes which may affect both tumour cells and healthy cells.
Merck has the industry’s largest immuno-oncology clinical research programme. There are currently more than 1,600 trials studying Keytruda across a wide variety of cancers and treatment settings. The Keytruda clinical programme seeks to understand the role of Keytruda across cancers and the factors that may predict a patient's likelihood of benefitting from treatment with Keytruda, including exploring several different biomarkers.
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