Merck to Offer Biotech Funding, Incubator in Israel

(A. Kotok)

The global pharmaceutical company Merck in Darmstadt, Germany has opened the Merck Serono Israel Bioincubator Fund, to support Israeli biotech and materials science start up companies. Merck’s chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley announced the initiative yesterday during meetings with officials in Israel.

Merck’s incubator program covers pharmaceuticals, life sciences, and high-performance materials. The program will offer start up companies seed financing and the opportunity of using a part of Merck Serono’s Israeli research and development center, Interlab, for their own research. Merck Serono is the company’s biopharmaceutical division headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Merck Serono will invest a total of EUR 10 million (USD 14.2 million) over seven years. At the same time, Merck’s chemicals division will add another EUR 3 million to support Israeli start ups in high-tech and life science materials.

Israeli companies will be selected based on their potential for developing innovative technologies aligned with the Merck’s strategy, which could make possible the discovery and development of new products.

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