The centre will specialise in biomarkers, pharmacogenomics and bioanalytics. “The creation of the China R&D centre marks a new milestone in Merck Serono’s commitment to China, where there is a rising demand for more healthcare options,” said Elmar Schnee, Executive Board Member responsible for pharmaceuticals.
“China is a country with talented scientists and high-quality research,” said Bernhard Kirschbaum, Executive Vice President of R&D. “We will recruit more R&D talent in China and build a world-class organisation that will extend our global R&D expertise and capabilities.”
The China R&D organisation will become one of the key R&D hubs for Merck Serono worldwide. The others are in Germany, Switzerland and the US. The team in China will lead drug development for China and other Asian countries, for local clinical trials and global clinical trials. The centre will also be responsible for the management of collaborations with research institutions in China and for continuing to look for partnerships with local academic institutions and companies.
Merck Serono already has active research collaborations in China and plans to further develop its collaboration network and build its R&D by tapping into China’s scientific expertise.
Receive the Funding Newswire [full access requires a subscription] each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.
