Merck – the engine Behind the COVID-19 Solution

Vaccine Development

By Merck Life Science ANZ

The Life Science business of Merck has rapidly leveraged its science and technology expertise to fight this devastating illness— COVID-19.

Today, Merck, in collaboration with our customers, is the engine behind the solution, working on COVID-19 projects through our products and services including: some 50 different vaccine programs; more than 20 treatments, like antibodies, plasmas and antivirals; and 35 testing solutions, such as PCR tests. We have also brought forward expansion plans around the world, as well as expedited the launch of new COVID-19 related products to meet the unprecedented demand brought forth by the virus.

Merck and Baylor College of Medicine Collaborate to Advance a Vaccine Manufacturing Platform to Fight COVID-19 The Life Science business ofMerck has rapidly leveraged its science and technology expertise tofight this devastating illness— COVID-19.

Many ask, how was it possible to provide the raw materials, products, and equipment so rapidly, given it can take a decade or more to develop vaccines and related treatments? The good news was that several developers were able to leverage already approved virus platforms to accelerate this complex development process from ten years down to one, applying existing technology from previous vaccine development programs to this novel coronavirus sequence. For example, our collaboration to support Oxford University’s vaccine candidate leveraged an existing platform that was used for vaccines against rabies and Ebola, among others. Similarly, our support for Baylor College of Medicine’s vaccine candidates both repurposed a SARS vaccine candidate and stemmed from our previous collaborative work to develop a vaccine targeting schistosomiasis, a deadly waterborne disease carried by parasites. This strategy will undoubtedly continue to accelerate numerous vaccine development processes while preserving their safety and efficacy going forward.

Pivoting development programs was only one part of the already highly complex task of creating a vaccine for this novel virus. The need was – and still is – at a global scale. For vaccine developers to manufacture the billions of doses needed to vaccinate a global population, competitors became partners, generating a demand surge for the critical products used in vaccine manufacturing. That is where the Life Science business of Merck, one of the world’s largest producers of single-use assemblies, plays a key role. In just six months, we added to and staffed a new single-use-assemblies plant in Massachusetts, USA (single-use assemblies are semi-custom, highly engineered plastic bags and filters that are used to mix vaccine material) and, in New Hampshire, USA, we expanded production to boost capacity to make the filters crucial to ensuring the purity of vaccines and other medicines. In March, we announced the building of another production facility dedicated to manufacturing single-use assemblies in Molsheim, France, the first facility of its kind for Merck in Europe. This facility, which will be online by the end of 2021, will add much-needed capacity for customers in various regions around the world.

At Merck, we could not be prouder to work with these heroes. They, and so many others, reflect our commitment to leave the world a better place than we found it.

In addition, Merck is continuing to lead and invest in mRNA and support mRNA manufacturers, including our extended partnership with BioNTech, building upon a strong existing collaboration to supply lipids for the drug delivery of BioNTech’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine.

While supporting the roll-out of vaccines is priority number one, Merck is also playing a critical role in the testing space for COVID-19, supporting more than 35 solutions. We are collaborating with clinical testing labs and diagnostics manufacturers in addition to key players such as Mammoth Biosciences Inc. of California, USA, for which we serve as contract manufacturer and support the development, scale-up and commercial production of their CRISPR-based diagnostic test.

Specific to PCR tests, we supply critical raw materials across all key steps involved in diagnosing COVID-19 infections with PCR tests, in addition to manufacturing and supplying key products, such as Hi-Flow membranes, for serologicals that enable testing for the presence of COVID-19 antibodies. We also supply critical raw materials across all three key steps involved in diagnosing COVID-19 infection, including viral transport media for patient sample collection, reagents for RNA extraction and key components for RNA amplification/detection.

Indeed, it has been a challenging year but, for Merck, a fulfilling one. We, along with countless individuals across academia, biotech, and pharma, as well as governments around the world, never stopped working in the quest to stem the global proliferation of COVID-19. Our colleagues, particularly those on the front lines of manufacturing, came in every day to make the products needed for vaccines, treatments, and testing. We continue to do everything we can to keep them safe – measures include enhanced and rigorous cleaning schedules, staggered shifts, social distancing, and providing vaccines on-site where available. At Merck, we could not be prouder to work with these heroes. They, and so many others, reflect our commitment to leave the world a better place than we found it.

About us

Our purpose is to solve the toughest problems in life science by collaborating with the global scientific community – and through that, we aim to accelerate access to health for people everywhere. We provide scientists and engineers with best-in-class lab materials, technologies, and services. With the 2015 combination of Merck Millipore and Sigma-Aldrich, we now have a broad portfolio of 300,000 products, an expanded global footprint, and an industry-leading eCommerce platform – SigmaAldrich.com

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