Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Opens New Life Science Center for Scientific Collaboration

• Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and company executive board members cut the ribbon on new Life Science Center in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA
• Company convenes scientific symposium with leaders in Genome Editing, eCommerce and Big Data
• New Life Science Center includes an M Lab™ Collaboration Center and region’s first BioReliance® Biodevelopment Center

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, today officially opened its new Life Science Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. The new center serves as a regional hub for scientific advancement and customer collaboration.

Governor Charlie Baker joined Stefan Oschmann, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Udit Batra, Member of the Executive Board and CEO, Life Science, at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and daylong scientific symposium focused on innovation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

“Massachusetts continues to be a global leader in research and development, the life sciences and innovative medical advancements that spur economic growth, create jobs and improve the lives of patients around the world,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Our administration continues to prioritize the investments and partnerships that build on those strengths, and is pleased to work with MilliporeSigma as they reinforce their long-time commitment to the Commonwealth and the life sciences.”

“When talking about Life Science, you automatically talk about the Greater Boston area. This is where the future of science is being invented, and that is why we are here. It is our global mission to develop technologies and services which help researchers discover and develop new therapies for the most challenging diseases,” said Oschmann.

The new 280,000-square-foot Life Science Center - now home to nearly 1,000 employees - is designed to leverage the expertise and skills of the best talent in the life science industry. The campus also serves as a premier destination for global customers. In addition to housing both a customer service and call center, the new campus features an M Lab™ Collaboration Center, a shared exploratory environment where the company’s scientists and engineers work with customers to learn about the latest techniques in biomanufacturing.

“Science is progressing at an unprecedented pace, including advances in bioprocessing, genome editing and data analytics,” said Batra. “Our new Burlington campus is specifically designed to foster a hands-on, collaborative environment where customers and our scientists and engineers come together to solve the toughest problems in life science.”

At year-end, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, will also open the region’s first BioReliance® End-to-End Biodevelopment Center for small-scale drug manufacturers who will use the lab for their early-phase clinical trials. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has 30 years of process development experience and a track record of delivering robust clinical production process and clinical material within nine to 12 months. Customers will get full support, not only with process development or production, but also with regulatory, quality and training.

The new Burlington facility was designed and constructed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards — minimizing energy and water consumption, while creating an attractive, convenient and healthy place to work. Some of its innovative features include daylight streaming in from all angles, high-efficiency LED lighting and water fixtures and a 182kW solar photovoltaic system blanketing the roof. Twelve electric vehicle-charging stations, with 24 reserved parking spaces, are available at no cost to employees and visitors.

The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, acquired Millipore in 2010 and Sigma-Aldrich in 2015. Prior to the latter acquisition, MilliporeSigma was known as EMD Millipore in the U.S. and Canada.