The company will leverage technological capabilities, particularly its industry-leading antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology
Merck, a leading science and technology company, shared updates on the company’s healthcare research and development strategy, aimed at doubling R&D productivity. To achieve the goal of introducing one new product or major indication every 1.5 years on average, the company will focus its expertise and capabilities and leverage synergies within the existing pipeline to deliver transformative medicines in oncology, neurology and immunology, augmented by an increased focus on external innovation. The company expects to maintain the output of its internal discovery engine, while more than 50 per cent of future launches will result from external co-development partnerships and strategic in-licensing of assets for further in-house development. The strategy was shared at the company’s R&D Update Call.
“We are driven by our ambition to accelerate the discovery, development and delivery of innovative medicines to patients with cancer and neuroinflammatory and immune-mediated diseases,” said Danny Bar-Zohar, Global Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer for the Healthcare business sector of Merck. “With a mindset of design simplicity and resource discipline paired with agility of execution, we will speed the generation of high-quality data that will support our efforts to bring forth more medicines for more patients, faster.”
To increase R&D productivity, the company will build on its established expertise in the underlying biology of its focused therapeutic areas of oncology, neurology and immunology and will leverage technological capabilities, particularly its industry-leading antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology.
