Merck KGaA

With a tradition of over three hundred years, Merck KGaA is one of the oldest pharmaceutical and chemical companies in the world. Merck has 192 companies in 60 countries, which employ over 30,000 personnel worldwide. Merck has focused its corporate headquarters and research & development in Darmstadt, Germany. However, it also operates important research sites in France, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, the US and Japan.

Merck's pharmaceutical operations are divided into the Merck Serono business and Consumer Health Care. For the former, research and marketing efforts are centred on two key therapeutic areas, namely Oncology and Neurology.

Integration of Serono into what was previously the Ethicals Division to form Merck Serono was completed in September 2007. The acquisition took place in January 2007 and the merger created a combined business with strong capabilities, especially in neurology and oncology. Together with Serono, this segment of Merck achieves:

• critical mass in research and development with an annual budget of approximately EUR 1 billion;
• R&D capabilities greater than the sum of the parts;
• a market-leading multiple sclerosis franchise broaden its business portfolio;
• an expanded geographic reach and access to the US market; and
• world-class biotechnology manufacturing.

The headquarters of this business remain in Geneva, Switzerland. Merck-Serono Biopharmaceuticals' US headquarters are in Boston, MA.

This new strategic analysis report Merck KGaA: Pipeline - Products - Performance - Potential, provides a complete and critical review of the company and includes unique and independent assessments and forecasts of key products. Buyers of the web edition receive online access for one year via an easy-to-use interface with fast navigation and a full text search facility. All formats are the same price.