CPHI Online is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Home Biopharma News Merck Research Laboratories facilities designated as “Milestones in Microbiology” sites
News
18 Oct 2016

Merck Research Laboratories facilities designated as “Milestones in Microbiology” sites

Facilities chosen for their contributions to anti-infectives and vaccines.

Merck (MSD), has announced that Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) facilities in Rahway, NJ, and West Point, Pa., have been designated as “Milestones in Microbiology” sites by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) for their contributions to anti-infectives and vaccines, respectively. This is the first time a biopharmaceutical company has received this recognition. The ASM Milestones in Microbiology program recognizes institutions and scientists that have made significant contributions toward advancing the science of microbiology.

“Merck is honored to be the first biopharmaceutical company to receive this recognition from the American Society for Microbiology as we celebrate our 125th anniversary,” said Dr Roger M. Perlmutter, president, Merck Research Laboratories. “We are proud of our legacy of antimicrobial research and remain steadfast in our commitment to treating and preventing infectious diseases.”

The MRL facilities were designated as ASM Milestones in Microbiology sites in recognition of the company’s research and development efforts including

  • Advancing a method of deep tank fermentation, in collaboration with other pharmaceutical companies and government agencies, which paved the way for the mass production of penicillin.

  • Working with Selman Waksman (Rutgers University, NJ) to secure one of the earliest formal collaborations between private industry and academia. This collaboration led to the demonstration that streptomycin was effective for the treatment of tuberculosis.

  • Establishing a natural product screening program that enabled Merck researchers to develop several new antibiotic medicines by culturing and screening organisms sampled from sites all over the world.

  • Developing a treatment for river blindness (onchocerciasis) for which Merck scientist William Campbell shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

  • Developing a portfolio of vaccines for the prevention of several viral and bacterial infections; research led by the pioneering vaccinologist Dr Maurice Hilleman.

    • “The Milestones in Microbiology program includes prominent sites that fundamentally impact the microbial sciences. From the perspective of the ASM, Merck Research Laboratories has met and exceeded all the criteria required for recognition as a Milestones site. We are especially pleased to recognize it as the first industrial Milestones site,” said Susan Sharp, president of the American Society for Microbiology.

    Related tags
    Biopharma Market

    Related News