DARMSTADT, Germany, Oct. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Merck Millipore, the Life Science business of Merck, today announced the Company has entered into a strategic alliance with Turgut Ilaç, a leading biosimilars company based in Turkey and will provide their Provantage® End-to-End services for development and manufacturing of biologics.
Merck Millipore's Provantage® End-to-End solution is a comprehensive suite of products and services enabling biopharmaceutical companies to accelerate progress of molecules into the clinic and toward commercialization. The turnkey package includes process development, cGMP manufacturing, facility design, equipment for pilot plant production, process and equipment training, technology transfer, equipment qualification and set-up for commercialization.
Under this multi-year agreement with Turgut Ilaç, Merck Millipore will provide process development, equipment for a pilot facility, cGMP manufacturing, facility design and ultimately, technology transfer of the manufacturing process to Turgut's facility for commerical production. Use of an identical template in both pilot and commercial scale facilitates technology transfer.
Phase one of the agreement will focus on monoclonal antibody biosimilars for non-small cell lung carcinoma and rheumatoid arthritis, the first molecules of Turgut's biosimilar pipeline that will be supported by Merck Millipore under this strategic relationship. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Biosimilars represent an important new therapeutic option and many biopharmaceutical companies around the world are investing in their development and manufacture," said Udit Batra, president and CEO, Merck Millipore. "We are excited to work with Turgut Ilaç, leveraging our end-to-end offering to help create and optimize processes and manufacturing facilities for these molecules. We look forward to helping them extend their legacy into the field of biologics and enable them to continue providing important benefits to patients in Turkey and surrounding markets."
"Turgut Ilaç was one of the founding companies of the pharmaceutical sector in Turkey and one of the first to develop generics, " said Kaya Turgut, founder and chairman of the board, Turgut Ilaç. "Our business model has now evolved to focus on development and manufacture of industry leading biosimilars. To support this inititiative, we sought a provider with strong scientific knowledge and expertise that could provide turnkey support encompassing everything from process development to commercial production. With this relationship, we gain access to expertise and capabilities that will not only allow us to establish robust processes, but make the transfer of those processes from pilot scale to commercial facilities much easier and faster."
Family-owned Turgut Ilaç was one of the first generic pharmaceutical companies to emerge in Turkey in 1951; their small molecule business was sold to Actavis in 2003. The Company expects to commercially manufacture biosimilars in a facility just outside Istanbul.
The Provantage® End-to-End solution delivers important benefits and addresses key challenges for biopharmaceutical companies at all stages of their life cycles in any geography, including established biopharmaceutical companies decentralizing manufacturing that need to rapidly and efficiently establish local production capabilities. With an end-to-end approach, Merck Millipore is able to facilitate and accelerate transfer of an entire process to a new location. Early-stage companies with limited manufacturing capabilities, resources and infrastructure benefit from a partner with best-in-class unit operations and the support and expertise to develop processes and production facilities.
For more information, please visit www.merckmillipore.com/provantage.
About Merck Millipore
Merck Millipore is the Life Science subsidiary of Merck, Darmstadt, Germany. As part of the global Life Science business of Merck, Merck Millipore offers a broad range of innovative performance products, services and business relationships that enable our customers' success in research, development and production of biotech and pharmaceutical drug therapies. Through dedicated collaboration on new scientific and engineering insights, and as one of the top three R&D investors in the life science tools industry, the Life Science business of Merck serves as a strategic partner to customers and helps advance the promise of life science. Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, the global business has around 10,000 employees, operations in 66 countries and 2014 revenues of €2.7 billion. Merck Millipore operates as EMD Millipore in the U.S. and Canada.
For more information, please visit www.merckmillipore.com.
About Merck
Merck is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company has six businesses – Merck Serono, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Merck Millipore and Performance Materials – and generated sales of € 11.3 billion in 2014. Around 39,000 Merck employees work in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for patients, to foster the success of customers and to help meet global challenges. Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company – since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70% interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are Canada and the United States, where the company operates as EMD Serono, EMD Millipore and EMD Performance Materials.
For more information, please visit www.merckgroup.com.