The DAX group Merck is investing more than 300 million euros in a new research center in Darmstadt. When laying the foundation stone, Chancellor Scholz welcomed the investments – and promised the industry a boost from politicians.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised the German pharmaceutical industry further support. On the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone for a new Merck research center, in which the pharmaceutical and chemical company is investing more than 300 million euros, Scholz spoke of a “commitment to Germany as a strong pharmaceutical, industrial and research location.”
Investments like these are by no means the only ones, said Scholz in Darmstadt. The US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is building a new plant in Rhineland-Palatinate for 2.3 billion euros and the pharmaceutical companies Roche from Switzerland and Daiichi-Sankyo from Japan are each investing over a billion euros in locations in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg .
“These are investments on a scale that we have not seen in Germany for a long time,” said Scholz. “We as the federal government will continue to support this awakening with all our might.” As a sign of assurance, Scholz placed the federal government’s draft medical research law in a time capsule that was embedded in the foundation stone of Merck’s new research center.
Pharmaceutical industry as a ray of hope in the location debate
At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Eli Lilly plant in Alzey, Scholz described strengthening Germany as a pharmaceutical location as a central task for the federal government. With the major investments in Germany, the federal government can point to urgently needed successes in the debate about the weakening German economy and the problems in the business location.
The federal government has decided on a new pharmaceutical strategy for the industry, which employs around 128,000 people and is considered resilient to economic fluctuations. Among other things, faster approval procedures and less bureaucratic approvals are intended to strengthen drug research. Scholz also referred to a future fund worth billions for start-ups and better tax depreciation options for research expenses.
From the beginning of 2027, Merck’s research center at its headquarters in Darmstadt will provide space for around 550 employees on around 18,000 square meters. The new building is part of a Merck investment program that includes around 1.5 billion euros for the site by 2025. The strategic investment enables progress that will benefit millions of patients around the world, said Merck CEO Belén Garijo.
The group concentrates its research in the building
Key technologies in its laboratory division – such as solutions for the production of antibodies, mRNA applications and other products in the biotech sector. mRNA technology in particular is seen as a source of hope in medicine, for example against cancer. It is based on the blueprints of the body’s own proteins. It became known for vaccines in the corona pandemic. Research on mRNA is developing rapidly and opening up new applications in medicine.
Source: Stern
