Alliances & Agreements
Joining forces, creating value
Partnering with other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and academic research institutes is a core part of our strategy at Merck Serono. By combining complementary expertise and resources, we create an environment that enables us to enhance value and move our projects forward. This in turn helps us to bring therapeutic innovations to patients more quickly.
Merck Serono offers potential partners a solid foundation upon which to build mutually rewarding relationships:
- Solid financials as part of Merck, a global chemical and pharmaceutical group
- Sales of 4.5 billion euros in 2007
- EUR 1 billion annual R&D investment
- World-class NCE and NBE manufacturing facilities
- Innovative R&D pipeline with about 40 ongoing development projects
- Recognized leadership in core therapeutic areas: Oncology (Erbitux®), Neurodegenerative diseases (Rebif®), and Fertility (GONAL-f®)
- Established presence in other therapeutic areas: CardioMetabolic Care (Concor®), Endocrinology (Saizen®) and Dermatology (Raptiva®)
- Emerging presence in new therapeutic areas arising from research and development in Autoimmune and Inflammatory diseases, with advanced development projects in Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Unparalleled track record for stringent due diligence and successful partnering
A partner of choice
At Merck Serono, we are committed to success through partnerships. We achieve this through dedicated alliance managers, joint project teams, a governance structure facilitating decision-making, open communications and an unfailing pursuit of common goals. That commitment, and our ability to deliver on it, makes Merck Serono the partner of choice.
The proof is in the partnering. Flexibility in deal-making and a willingness to take risk for highly innovative products are the hallmarks of Merck Serono. Some examples:
1998 – Imclone Systems
Merck Serono has a co-development agreement (ex-North America) with Imclone Systems for Erbitux, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor). Erbitux was among the most successful product launches in Europe to date. It is currently registered for colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, and is in late-stage development in numerous other EGFR-expressing tumors.2004 – ZymoGenetics
Merck Serono and ZymoGenetics have established a broad partnership to research, develop and commercialize novel protein and antibody therapeutics. The partnership includes the exclusive worldwide license to Merck Serono to develop and commercialize products based on Fibroblast Growth Factor 18, Interleukin 22 Receptors and co-development of products based on Interleukin 31. This strategic research alliance is in addition to the earlier co-development agreement with ZymoGenetics for atacicept (formerly referred to as TACI-Ig), a genetic fusion molecule, currently in late stage development in Lupus (SLE), Rheumatoid Arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis.2005 – Survac ApS
Following the acquisition of the Danish Biotechnology company Survac ApS, Merck Serono has gained access to novel technologies for the treatment of cancer. The founders of Survac developed a technology to identity and modify peptides that are useful for therapeutic cancer vaccines. The acquisition of all intellectual property owned by Survac includes a broad patent portfolio in the area of proteins essential for the survival of cancer cells. A cancer vaccine is in exploratory clinical trials.2007 – Archemix
Merck Serono has formed a multi-year strategic alliance with Archemix Corp. of Cambridge, Massachusetts to discover, develop and commercialize first-in-class aptamer therapeutics with a primary focus on the treatment of cancer. Additional areas of the collaboration include autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The alliance combines Archemix' proprietary SELEX® technology to discover and generate aptamer candidates with Merck Serono's drug development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, Merck Serono is granted a license to use Archemix' SELEX® technology for internal target validation.
