Merck & Co., Inc. Opens Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters In Singapore
Merck & Co., Inc, operating in Asia Pacific under the corporate name, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), recently announced it has opened its regional headquarters in Singapore at Parkview Square. The move is part of the Company's global strategy to strengthen its focus on emerging markets, bringing Merck's innovative portfolio of pharmaceuticals and vaccines to patients and the medical community in Asia.
"Singapore is the ideal location for Merck's Asia Pacific regional headquarters because of its favorable business environment," said Mr. Richard T. Clark, chairman, president and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc. "Singapore offers strong intellectual property protection, modern physical and regulatory infrastructure, and a highly-skilled and educated professional workforce. We have also found great support from the EDB to move forward as soon as possible. Merck's decision to relocate our Asia Pacific regional headquarters to Singapore is bold testimony to our long-term confidence in and commitment to Singapore and the entire region."
The total investment in Singapore arising out of the relocation will supplement initiatives ongoing in Singapore, including chemical and pharmaceutical operations and the installation of state-of-art technologies to support introduction of new products.
"Our new Asia Pacific headquarters will help Merck achieve our overall goal of market leadership," said Mr. Ramesh Subrahmanian, president, Asia Pacific Human Health, "With a strong, direct presence in Asia we can better understand and respond to the needs of patients and customers, and contribute to improved healthcare in the region. We will strengthen our engagement with the scientific community and work closely with public health stakeholders in Asia. We hope to fully leverage the talent and capabilities available in the region to become an employer of choice for skilled and talented professionals in Asia Pacific."
The new Asia Pacific Regional headquarters builds on an already strong manufacturing presence in Singapore, where the Company has recently completed a S$152M (US$100 million) investment at their Tuas Biomedical Park facility to support future new product introductions, including an investigational medicine for lipid management (MK-524) that is currently in Phase III development. This brings Merck's total investments in Singapore to more than S$1 billion (US$650M) in facilities that span 49 acres in Tuas, producing both active pharmaceutical ingredients as well as finished products for sale worldwide. Moving forward, the Company also plans to invest in additional new technology platforms at this facility to support more new product introductions.
The new regional office expands Merck's scope and capabilities in Singapore. The Company already employs over 500 people in its Singapore commercial and manufacturing operations.
"We are very pleased that Merck has decided to locate its Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore," said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Mr. Lee Yi Shyan. "This builds upon the excellent partnership Singapore has with Merck, which is currently one of the largest investors in our fast-growing biomedical sciences industry, and a key contributor of the industry's manufacturing output. Their success in Singapore underscores once again the importance of a strong talent base and sound intellectual property regime for biomedical sciences companies to thrive."
In the past five years, Merck, through its MSD Singapore subsidiary, has introduced eight new products in Singapore alone and invested US$4.8 billion in R&D worldwide.
About MSD Asia Pacific
MSD currently has offices in China, India, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. The Company employs nearly 5,000 people in Asia Pacific.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. Established in 1891, Merck discovers, develops, manufactures and markets vaccines and medicines to address unmet medical needs. The Company devotes extensive efforts to increase access to medicines through far-reaching programs that not only donate Merck medicines but help deliver them to the people who need them. Merck also publishes unbiased health information as a not-for-profit service. For more information, visit www.merck.com/.
SOURCE: Merck & Co., Inc,