Merck Serono to set up new factory in Nantong

An employee is working in a laboratory of Merck Serono in Geneva, Switzerland. [File Photo/icpress.cn]

Merck Serono plans to inject 650 million yuan ($107 million) to set up a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Nantong, Jiangsu province, to produce medicine to treat diabetes, cardiovascular and thyroid disorders.

The new facility will cover an area of 40,000 square meters, with a possible 20,000 sq m extension.

The construction of the site is scheduled to start in 2014 before completion in 2016, with commercial production set for 2017.

Meanwhile, the factory will become the second-largest of Merck's global pharmaceutical manufacturing sites.

"With our research center, our development capabilities, our commercial presence and this new manufacturing facility, we are building for the future in China by investing across our value chain," said Allan Gabor, general manager and managing director of Merck Serono in China.

Belen Garijo, president and chief executive officer of Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck, said: "We are proud to be one of the first multinational companies investing in a local site focused on the manufacturing of medicines referenced in China's essential drug list, by bringing high-quality medicines made in China to a broader population, in full alignment with the Chinese government's goal to increase access to quality products."

Merck has made significant investments in the country.

It opened a research center in Beijing, focused on biomarker research, including pharmacogenomics and bioanalytics, which is part of Merck Serono's stratified medicine approach in 2009.