The chief scientist and the German company will jointly support Israeli biotechnology companies

Dr. Karl-Ludwig Klee, chairman of the Merck board, noted during the ceremony the quality of scientific research in the field of life sciences in Israel and emphasized his personal commitment to the success of the collaboration program with the chief scientist

In the photo (from right to left) - Dr. Karl-Ludwig Klee, Chairman of the Mark Board and Dr. Eli Oper, Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Photo: Spokesperson of the Ministry of Transport and Communications

Yesterday, an agreement was signed in Jerusalem for cooperation in industrial R&D between the Mark Group and the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology. The agreement was signed by the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Eli Ofer and the Chairman of Merck Management, Dr. Karl-Ludwig Klee.
In doing so, the German Mark will join six other global companies that have already signed the agreement, as part of a program run by the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology with multinational corporations.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Chief Scientist, Dr. Eli Ofer, the Chairman of Merck Management, Dr. Clay, member of the Merck Board of Directors, Elmer Shani, other senior executives of Merck and Merck-Serono from Germany and Switzerland and invitees from academia and industry in Israel.

According to the agreement, Merck, which is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, will support, together with the chief scientist, Israeli companies involved in the development of drugs and chemicals for the high-tech industry and the life sciences industry.
The Mark company will grant the Israeli companies, which will be selected to participate in the program and will receive support for part of the R&D expenses from the Research Institute, a set of benefits that include, among others: technological and regulatory consulting, assistance and support in technological and clinical aspects, allocation of R&D and marketing resources, integration in future development plans, and more . The chief scientist will assist Merck in locating suitable technologies, developed in Israel.

Dr. Carl-Ludwig Klee, chairman of Merck's management, noted during the ceremony the quality of scientific research in the field of life sciences in Israel and emphasized his personal commitment to the success of the collaboration program with the chief scientist.
Dr. Carl-Ludwig Klee came to Israel especially for the signing of the agreement, for a day.
The Chief Scientist at the TMT Office, Dr. Eli Ofer, points out that a program for R&D collaboration with multinational corporations in his office offers a friendly and supportive environment for collaborations between Israeli companies and global corporations. "The signing of the agreement with Merck is a significant development for the Israeli biotechnology industry and is another step in the implementation of the policy of the Office of the Chief Scientist, which has long declared the field of biotechnology as one of the preferred fields at the national level," emphasizes Dr. Ofer.

The director of the cooperation program with multinational corporations in the Office of the Chief Scientist, Yaakov Fisher, says that in the coming days the Office of the Chief Scientist will publish a call for Israeli biotech companies to submit proposals for cooperation with Merck.

The Merck company, which was established almost 200 years ago in Germany, is the oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company in the world, owning 242 companies in about 60 countries and its turnover totaling close to ten billion dollars, about half of that in the pharmaceutical sector. The company employs over 30,000 people in its factories around the world.