Merck Celebrates Topping-Out Ceremony for New Membrane Production Plant

- Membrane manufacturing facility for aseptic filters will help meet customer demand in the growing biopharmaceutical market

- Investment of more than EUR 140 million creates approximately 55 new jobs

- Construction expected to be completed in 2022

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today celebrated the topping-out ceremony for its new membrane production plant in Darmstadt, Germany. With the new facility, the company plans to expand manufacturing of Millipore Express(R) membranes, which are critical components in Millipore Express(R) filters and help ensure the sterility of biological drug products. The project with a volume of more than EUR 140 million is part of the EUR 1 billion investment in its global headquarters until 2025 that the company announced last year.

"As a science and technology company, we want to pave the way for new therapies and contribute to improving the lives of patients around the world. With this strategically important production facility for our Life Science business sector, we are investing in a future technology, enabling additional growth and creating new jobs at our company's global headquarters," said Stefan Oschmann, chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck.

Chris Ross, interim CEO of the Life Science business, added: "As a world-leading life science tools and solutions provider, we play a pivotal role in the growing biopharmaceutical membrane market. This investment increases our membrane manufacturing capacity and allows for more supply chain diversification. It also demonstrates our commitment to advancing the production of new therapies and our support for bringing important drugs to market."

The new membrane production plant is expected to create approximately 55 new jobs. Construction began in March this year and is expected to be completed in 2022, followed by production process validation and commercialization. The new, four-story membrane plant will house immersion membrane casting equipment, quality control laboratories and offices.

Millipore Express(R) membranes from Merck will be manufactured at the new facility in Darmstadt, then processed into filters for pharmaceutical production at the company's existing device Center of Excellence in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, USA.

With more than 50 years of experience in sterile filtration, Merck is an industry leader, providing the most comprehensive portfolio of products, services and testing for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Millipore Express(R) membranes and Durapore(R) membranes are produced today at the Center of Excellence for membrane manufacturing in Cork, Ireland. The Merck Life Science Center in Cork remains a critical manufacturing facility within the company's global network.

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About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 56,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people's lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2019, Merck generated sales of EUR16.2 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck's technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science and EMD Performance Materials.