Merck and Baylor College of Medicine Advance Vaccine Development and...

• Collaborationfurthersbothparties’commitmenttoadvanceresearchanddevelopmentforneglecteddiseases
• Agreementfocusesonoptimizingvaccineprocessdevelopmentandformulationandexchangingknow-how

Darmstadt,Germany,August8,2017 — Merck,aleADIngscienceandtechnologycompany,todayannouncedthatithasformedastrategicalliancewithBaylorCollegeofMedicine(Texas,U.S.)anditsvaccineproductdevelopmentpartnership(PDP),TexasChildren’sHospitalCenterforVaccineDevelopment(TexasChildren’sCVD),toadvancevaccineresearchanddevelopmentforneglectedandemerginginfections.

Thecollaborationfocusesonbringingvaccinesthroughdevelopmenttoefficientlydeliverthemtosocietiesinneed.Merck’sexpertsinprocessdevelopmentandformulationareworkingwithTexasChildren’sCVDscientistsatBaylortooptimizethevaccinemanufacturingprocesstoincreasevaccinestABIlityandyield.Initially,theseactivitiesaretargetingschistosomiasis,adeadlyparasiticdiseasethataffectsmillionsofpeopleayearintropicalandsubtropicalregions.

“Ourpurposeistosolvethetoughestproblemsinlifesciencebycollaboratingwiththeglobalscientificcommunity,”saidUditBatra,MemberoftheMerckExecutiveBoardandCEO,LifeScience.“ThealliancewithBaylorCollegeofMedicine,oneofthepremierresearchinstitutionsintheworld,istheidealpartnershiptoadvancevaccinedevelopmentandmanufacturing.Together,wewillsupportthefightagainstinfectiousdiseases.”

Thecollaborationincludestrainingandexchangeoftechnicalknow-howinprocessdevelopmentandformulation,fillingknowledgegapsthatexistfromresearchanddevelopmenttomanufacturing,withafocusonneglectedandemergingdiseases.Dr.PeterHotez,foundingDeanoftheNationalSchoolofTropicalMedicineatBaylorCollegeofMedicineandco-directorofthePDP,recentlypresentedonthetopicatanAccesstoMedicineeventearlierthisyearinDarmstadt,Germany.

”WeareexcitedtopartnerwithMerckinordertoadvancethisimportantvaccine.Today,schistosomiasisisconsideredoneoftheworld’smostdevastatingneglectedtropicaldiseases,affectinghundredsofmillionsoftheworld’spoorestpeople.WeareexcitedaboutournewcollaborationwithMercktoadvancethislifesavingvaccine,”saidDr.Hotez.

Dr.Maria-ElenaBottazzi,DeputyDirectorofTexasChildren’sHospitalCenterforVaccineDevelopment,said,“Thescientificknowledgeexchangefromthispartnershipwillcatalyzeandacceleratetheproductdevelopmentofmuch-neededvaccinesagainstthediseasesofpoverty.Itwillserveasaframeworkforcapacitybuildingandwillestablishself-relianceinvaccinedevelopmentandmanufacturingaroundtheglobe.”

Thiscollaboration,togetherwithMerck’srecentlyannouncedpublic-privatepartnershipwiththeAustralianInstituteofTropicalHealthandMedicine(JamesCookUniversity,Queensland),theAustralianGovernment’sinvestmentpromotionagency,andBaylorCollegeofMedicine,furthersbothparties’commitmenttoadvancingresearchinneglecteddiseasesglobally.

AboutBaylorCollegeofMedicine

BaylorCollegeofMedicine(www.bcm.edu)inHoustonisrecognizedasapremieracademichealthsciencescenterandisknownforexcellenceineducation,researchandpatientcare.Itistheonlyprivatemedicalschoolinthegreatersouthwestandisranked21stamongmedicalschoolsforresearchand8thforprimarycarebyU.S.News&WorldReport.Baylorislisted19thamongallU.S.medicalschoolsforNationalInstitutesofHealthfundingandnumberoneinTexas.LocatedintheTexasMedicalCenter,BaylorhasaffiliationswithseventeachinghospitalsandjointlyownsandoperatesBaylorSt.Luke’sMedicalCenter,partofCHISt.Luke’sHealth.Currently,Baylortrainsmorethan3,000medical,graduate,nurseanesthesia,physicianassistantandorthoticsstudents,aswellasresidentsandpost-doctoralfellows.

In2011,BaylorlaunchedtheNationalSchoolofTropicalMedicine,whichtogetherwithTexasChildren’sHospitalCenterforVaccineDevelopmentisleadinganinnovativeproductdevelopmentpartnershipmodelfortheresearch&developmentofnewvaccinestocombattheworld’sneglectedtropicaldiseases.

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AboutMerck

Merckisaleadingscienceandtechnologycompanyinhealthcare,lifescienceandperformancematerials.Around50,000employeesworktofurtherdeveloptechnologiesthatimproveandenhancelife–frombiopharmaceuticaltherapiestotreatcancerormultiplesclerosis,cutting-edgesystemsforscientificresearchandproduction,toliquidcrystalsforsmartphonesandLCDtelevisions.In2016,Merckgeneratedsalesof€15.0billionin66countries.

Foundedin1668,Merckistheworld"soldestpharmaceuticalandchemicalcompany.Thefoundingfamilyremainsthemajorityownerofthepubliclylistedcorporategroup.MerckholdstheglobalrightstotheMercknameandbrand.TheonlyexceptionsaretheUnitedStatesandCanada,wherethecompanyoperatesasEMDSEROno,MilliporeSigmaandEMDPerformanceMaterials.