Merck has recently welcomed Robert Habeck, the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, at its headquarters in Darmstadt.

Together with members of the Executive Board of Merck, Habeck visited a modular, commercial production line for active ingredients like for example pharmaceuticals. Based on a new automation standard, it is the first of its kind in the world and was supported with funding from the Energy Research Programme of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

“Greater energy efficiency is an important contribution to a climate-neutral energy system. Thorough research offers the path to creating further potential for efficiency. The modular production facility sets a new benchmark and saves substantial amounts of energy,” said Robert Habeck, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

“For this reason, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is providing funding for this innovation in the Energy Research Programme. By doing this, we are helping to safeguard and strengthen Germany’s economy. The research projects involved a large number of manufacturers, so that – following the successful demonstration – we can soon expect more, similarly efficient, facilities,” Habeck stated.

“Merck is pioneering a new smart manufacturing, or ‘smartfacturing’ approach,” said Belén Garijo, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck.

“Our aim is to bring new products to market faster and in a more cost-efficient and environmentally conscious manner. This will allow us to better serve patients – while, at the same time, contribute to a competitive, innovation-driven pharma landscape in Germany, in the heart of Europe,” added Garijo.

Merck collaborated with the technology company Siemens to realize and implement the new automation technology for GMP production that enables equipment connectivity. GMP stands for “Good Manufacturing Practice” and describes the strict standards that apply to the production of pharmaceuticals for example. With the new automation standard, special software components (module type packages, MTP) form the basis for interlinking the different production devices based on a common standard. Currently, Merck utilizes the new automation technology to produce pharmaceuticals as well as for chemicals but it can also be applied to various production processes and manufacturing industries.

Merck has invested EUR 10 million in its modular production line in Darmstadt. Using the new automation standard saves time to market for new products, reduces investment costs and leads to considerable carbon dioxide savings.

During his visit, Habeck was also shown the variety of products and services that the Life Science business sector of Merck offers to clients around the world from academia research to industrial research in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical arena. Only a couple of days ago, the Life Science business sector laid the foundation stone for a new research center in Darmstadt, a EUR 300 million investment. Here, Merck will research solutions for manufacturing antibodies, mRNA applications and additional products required for biotechnological production.

The Merck headquarters has been located in Darmstadt for 355 years. The company plans to invest a total of around EUR 1.5 billion here by 2025.