Merck’s New VirusExpress™ Platform Speeds Development of Cell and Gene Therapies

Merck’s New VirusExpress™ Platform Speeds Development of Cell and Gene Therapies

• Proven, scalable platform increases dose yields and reduces process development time for cell and gene therapies
• Marks the latest of Merck’s continued investments in rapidly growing cell and gene therapy market

Darmstadt, Germany, October 13, 2020 – Merck, a leading science and technology company, has bolstered its viral vector manufacturing capabilities with the launch of its VirusExpress™ Lentiviral Production Platform. This new platform helps to overcome lentiviral production challenges and can reduce process development time by approximately 40 percent, based on Merck’s experience as a contract development and manufacturing organization.

“Cell and gene therapies offer the potential for curative treatments and are being developed and commercialized in half the time it has taken traditional therapies,” said Angela Myers, head of Gene Editing & Novel Modalities, Life Science, at Merck. “We are committed to accelerating manufacturing of cell and gene therapies with the ultimate goal of getting these lifesaving treatments to patients faster. By increasing dose yields and dramatically reducing process development time, this new platform will help us reach this goal.”

Using a suspension cell line rather than an adherent-based production, coupled with a chemically defined cell culture media and process with built-in scalability, Merck’s VirusExpress™ Platform meets multiple market needs. In addition to accelerating process development, the suspension culture format allows each batch of virus to be larger yielding more patient doses. Additionally, suspension culture is amenable to true scale-up, while being less labor-intensive. The chemically defined medium eliminates the safety, regulatory and supply chain concerns related to animal- and human-derived materials.

Merck’s VirusExpress™ Platform offers a simplified upstream workflow, making processes easier to manage, adjust and scale. Flexible licensing allows companies to manufacture vectors by using either Merck’s contract manufacturing capabilities, a third-party contract development and manufacturing organization, or in-house development.

The Life Science business of Merck is a leading contract development and manufacturing organization combining an integrated portfolio of manufacturing solutions with proven commercialization experience. This new offering underscores Merck’s continued investment in cell and gene therapies. In April 2020, the company announced a new €100 million, 140,000-square-foot manufacturing center at its Carlsbad, California, USA, location that will double the existing production capacity and support large-scale commercial manufacturing. Today, the Life Science business of Merck manufactures vectors for two of the first five FDA-approved cell and gene therapies.

The cell and gene therapy market is growing rapidly and continues to show great promise. According to market research leader Arizton, the cell and gene therapy market is expected to reach more than $6.6 billion by 2024[1]. Merck has been involved in this space since clinical trials for gene therapy began in the 1990s.

Operator manufacturing viral vector in a cGMP environment. Merck’s new VirusExpress™ Platform increases dose yields and reduces process development time for cell and gene therapies.

All Merck news releases are distributed by email at the same time they become available on the Merck Website. Please go to www.merckgroup.com/subscribe to register online, change your selection or discontinue this service.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 57,000 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 €16.2 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.

[1] www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-cell-and-gene-therapy-market-to-reach-revenues-of-over-6-6-billion-by-2024---market-research-by-arizton-300957463.html