Merck opens first India M Lab in Bengaluru to help biopharma firms scale

Lab will also help with technology absorption, making drugs for clinical trials and regulatory nods

Medical technology company Merck has opened its first M Lab Collaboration Centre in India in Bengaluru, which will help biopharmaceutical firms from development to production of molecules in lab scale, before they embark on large-scale manufacturing of these drugs in the market.

The lab, among the nine global labs for Merck, will collaborate with local generic pharma firms who look at transitioning to making biopharmaceuticals for both the local and global markets.

"We can bring the service to the Indian manufacturers so that they can avoid the pitfalls while they were exporting drugs to other countries. We have customers who are domestic manufacturers who have been exporting formulations in the generic space and want to make the transition to biopharmaceuticals," said Peter Salazar, Head, Process Solutions for Merck in India said.

The firm is engaged with around 20 biopharma firms, who can explore and collaborate with Merck scientists to develop proteins from cells, purify them, test and manufacture in lab scale. The lab will also help pharma firms in the process for technology absorption, production of drugs for clinical trials and documentation for regulatory approvals

"There is no upfront fee for the service. We help them adopt the technology. Our revenue generation will depend on equipment and consumables," said Salazar. "We can offer end to end solution starting from clone development to manufacturing space, that is the reason for the M Lab."

The lab includes a simulated manufacturing environment and enables collaboration with Merck experts to evaluate processes and accelerates development and production of new therapies. This helps in reducing time to manufacture by as much as 80 per cent and cost by 30 per cent.

In addition, education on best practices and new approaches to develop, optimize and scale-up processes and ways to simplify global technology transfer will be available to customers.

"Bangalore is a hub for India's rapidly growing biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry," said Udit Batra, Member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO, Life Science in a statement.

Merck earns 57 per cent of its Rs 2,500 crore revenue in India from the life sciences business.