Merck unveils first innovation collaboration site open to startups

Science and technology giant Merck opened its Shanghai Innovation Base located in the Pudong New Area last week, marking the establishments of the company's first innovation collaboration site open to startups in China.

The 2,000 square-meter new facility is designed to utilize Merck's global innovation ecosystem in the Zhangjiang Science City to incubate and accelerate novel projects with focus on healthcare, life science and electronics.

"China is one of the leading global innovation hotspots. The scale of investment, the support by the government and the dynamic of the startups make the ecosystem a center for the next potential breakthroughs," said Laura Matz, Merck's chief science and technology officer, in a press release.

"Merck views China not only as a market but also as an important source of innovation. The newly opened innovation base is another milestone of our In China, With China strategy," said Allan Gabor, Merck China president.

The hub has attracted eight startups including SynSense, a neuromorphic processor solution provider Merck invested in through its strategic capital venture arm M Ventures.

Besides the core areas of Merck in healthcare, life science and electronics, the focus of the Shanghai Innovation Base is to bring in innovative startups and partner with them in strategic growth fields for Merck, such as AI-enabled health solutions, bioelectronics and cultured meat, as well as early-stage exploration in the fields of neuromorphic systems and organoids.

Shanghai is an ideal location for fostering new ideas because of "the cluster and the density of customers", said Thomas Herget, head of Merck's China and Silicon Valley Innovation Hubs.

"Our overall China strategy is to become the most localized multinational company and a trusted partner in China across all of our three business sectors," he said. "We have that confident because all our businesses are among the national prioritized industries such as pharmaceuticals, life science and electronics, our business portfolios are best positioned to support these megatrends."

Herget said the Shanghai and Silicon Valley facilities are addressing the same problems and thus making joint innovation.

"For example, we are evaluating female technology to improve women's health. We have a fertility program with one strong union. The idea is really to identify the most viable embryos with imaging," he said.