Merck Life Science

The speed at which we can test a medicine’s safety and efficacy directly affects the progress of drug development. Hear from Melisa Wilson as she shares the story behind our new Blazar CHO Animal Origin Free panel and how it’s accelerating the delivery of life-changing medicines to patients with greater speed and safety.

Jeffrey Whitford has had a vision for over a decade, and more importantly, he’s turned that vision into impact—for Merck, our customers, and our planet. Overseeing our sustainability efforts across Merck Life Science, Jeffrey has built an industry-leading program from the ground up. Starting as a team of one, he has now integrated sustainability into every facet of our operations. All with quiet confidence and a vision for a better world. Under his stewardship, we’ve made our packaging more sustainable, provided customers with transparent and actionable sustainability data, reimagined product design to prioritize sustainability, and focused our sustainable operational efforts where they can have the greatest impact. Beyond sustainability, Jeffrey has launched science education programs, like the Curiosity Cube, that have collectively reached over 10 million students, preparing the next generation of innovators. For these reasons and many more, Jeffrey is the first-ever Merck Life Science CEO Award recipient given to an individual—there couldn't be a more fitting colleague. His entrepreneurial mindset and tireless commitment have positioned Merck Life Science as a sustainability leader. His vision has created a strong foundation, and I know he and the entire team are only just getting started. Congratulations, Jeffrey, and thank you to all the colleagues who have help drive our sustainability efforts every day.

Parkinson’s is one of the fastest-growing neurological disorders, affecting 10 million people today. Our collaboration with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research brings SMC immunoassay technology to the scientific community. This technology detects biomarker changes, enabling researchers to measure how different therapies impact disease progression and improve treatment approaches.

Our Molsheim, France site has gone PINK in October! Once again, our campus in Molsheim has been lit up in pink to bring awareness to breast cancer. Local employees also participate in fundraising events to support the fight against breast cancer. #BreastCancerAwareness

With over 300,000 products in our portfolio, we’ve learned a lot about scaling up a product from pilot batches to commercial manufacturing. Now, we leverage this expertise in our Contract Manufacturing Services to help customers scale their products for market. Learn more: http://ms.spr.ly/6041mfOg7

Join us on LinkedIn for a live and interactive panel discussion to explore the future of ADCs in cancer treatment. The discussion will focus on recent advancements in technology and integration with other therapies. Key topics will include innovations in antibody engineering, linker chemistry, payload selection, the role of biomarkers, and challenges in manufacturing. This event is an excellent opportunity for experts, researchers, clinicians, and industry professionals to gain insights into the latest developments and future directions of ADCs. Click Attend to RSVP.

Hear from experts Melisa Wilson and Alexandra Fajardo as they explain biosafety testing, why it's essential in drug production, and how the opening of our new Rockville biosafety testing site will help foster even faster innovations.

Test yourself! One challenge drug makers face is the poor solubility of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). When taken by a patient, the API within the drug product should be soluble, meaning it should absorb into the body. And yet, 70% of drugs in development are poorly soluble. Knowing this, which of the below techniques do drug makers use to combine API with one or more compounds to overcome solubility challenges? Hint: Find out how our AI-based mPredict service can expedite your drug development process and help you overcome solubility issues. http://ms.spr.ly/6043mNhp9

This week reminded us how innovation — whether through biology or AI — continues to transform science and healthcare. Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun’s groundbreaking discovery of microRNA has redefined our understanding of gene regulation. This has far-reaching implications in areas like cancer, genetic diseases, and biology – and we’re already seeing advances as a result. David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper’s work on AI-driven protein design and prediction is also transformative. Their innovative approaches to protein design and prediction could lead to innovation in drug discovery, vaccines, therapeutics, and nanomaterials.  Congratulations to the 2024 Nobel Prize winners for medicine and chemistry. I’m looking forward to seeing the impact the global scientific community continues to make by pursuing these technologies together. Read more about their work: https://lnkd.in/egdvbH7E

Join us next week for an interactive discussion on the future of ADCs in cancer treatment! Our panel of experts will cover advancements in antibody engineering, linker chemistry, biomarkers, and more. Register for the free event here: http://ms.spr.ly/6040mIL66