Merck's first innovation hub in China settles in Shanghai
Stefan Oschmann, Chairman and CEO of Merck, addresses the opening ceremony of the Merck China Innovation Hub.
A Merck Innovation Hub, the first in China, opened in Shanghai on Friday as Merck announced a 100 million yuan (US$14 million) seed fund injected into the China Innovation Hub, the first investment by M Ventures, the strategy investment arm of the Merck group.
Stefan Oschmann, chairman and CEO of Merck said, “We always have faith in China, and the 100 million seed fund is our commitment to China.”
The innovation hub will serve startups, academic institutions and people with good idea mainly in health care, life science, performance materials, the three business sectors of Merck.
“The innovation hub will accelerate Merck’s innovation in China and we hope to promote innovation and serve China together with partners,” Oschmann added.
The hub is located in the “New Bund” (Qian Tan in Chinese) in the Pudong New Area, and covers an area of 1,000 square meters.
The hub is located in World Trade Center, the New Bund, Pudong New Area.
"When we decide to set up an innovation hub in China, without hesitation, we chose Shanghai because of its innovation ecosystem, especially in biotech and life science,” Oschmann said.
Merck plans to open a second innovation hub in Guangzhou in November. The company set up hubs in Germany and the US before.
Allan Gabor, president of Merck China, said that, “China is not just a huge market, but also one of significant factors influencing global trend and strategy.”
Isabel De Paoli, chief strategy officer of Merck, said, “The China Innovation Hub will play major role in the future development of Merck by connecting to the another two innovation hubs in Europe and in the US.”
Sophie Sun, managing director of Merck China Innovation Hub said, besides giving financial support for the potential programs, they will share Merck’s technology ability such as research team and labs.
Merck is a science and technology company focused on three fields: medicine and health care, life science and performance materials such as liquid crystal used in smart phone and flat screen television. It has 56,000 employees worldwide and in 2018 its sales totaled 116.9 billion yuan.
