The company announced the establishment of a fund to operate an Israeli biotech incubator of Mark Serono, the bio-pharmaceutical division of Mark * A new call for research proposals within the cooperation program of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The German chemical and pharmaceutical company Merck (Merck KGaA) announced today the establishment of an Israeli biotech incubator fund on its behalf. The establishment of the incubator fund is a strategic initiative of Mark-Serono, and the activity of the incubator will focus on Israeli start-up companies in the field of biotechnology. The announcement of the establishment of the fund was made today, during the visit of Dr. Carl-Ludwig Clay, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mark, during a meeting he held with the Minister of Science and Technology, Shalom Simhon, and the Chief Scientist, Avi Hasson.
Mark representatives will participate in the Biomed Israel 2011 conference that will be held on May 23-25, 2011 at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv.
The new incubator is designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurship in the field of biotech and will offer companies initial seed funding and the opportunity to use for their research needs the infrastructure of Inter-Lab - the R&D center of Mark-Serono in Israel, located in Yavne.
The Israeli biotechnology companies will be selected based on their potential to develop innovative technologies that will enable the discovery and development of new products, in accordance with Mark-Serono's strategy. Mark-Serono will invest a total of 10 million euros in the biotech incubator program for a period of seven years.
At the same time, Merck Chemicals will initiate a program for start-up companies in the field of high-tech and life science materials, in which Merck will invest 3 million euros in the next three years.
Dr. Karl-Ludwig Klee, chairman of Merck's board of directors, says that: "We hope that the new program will contribute to further strengthening our research collaborations in Israel, since Israel is one of the leading countries in scientific innovation of start-ups in the field of biopharmaceuticals and the high-tech materials".
Regine Shabach, CEO of Inter-Lab, an affiliate of Mark Sarono in Israel, says that "This is an important day for the biotech community. The new incubator will create a real opportunity for breakthrough Israeli innovation towards the discovery and development of advanced medicines"
Since 2007, Merck has taken part in the framework program for the promotion of cooperation, initiated by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which was established to provide Israeli partners with a number of specific advantages, including technical support, sales assistance and penetration of international markets, while providing access to business development resources and technological applications.
A new call for proposals for this program was published today by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
During his visit, Clay also met with the presidents and leading scientists at the Weizmann Institute, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Technion in Haifa.
About Merck KGaA activity in Israel
Inter-Lab, managed by Regine Shabach, specializes in the development of rapidly proliferating cells, which are used for the development and production of new drugs. The Merck Group markets its drugs in Israel through the subsidiary Merck-Serono, managed by Shari Perlov. Mark-Serono markets the fertility products in the local market: Gonal-F, Lobris, Obitrel, Cetrotide and Crinon, the Rabif for the treatment of multiple sclerosis as well as the oncology drug Arbitox.
One response
Come on, it's clear why Cezana was called out in the article about vaccine damage in Japan.
Zatsna, have you already received a contract from Mirek?