Merck Serono forms alliance with German innovation centre

Merck Serono has announced that it will be collaborating on new medical research based at an innovation centre operated by BioMed X in Heidelberg, Germany.

BioMed X will support Merck Serono in running research projects with interdisciplinary project teams of young scientists, operating under the guidance of experienced mentors from Merck Serono and the world of academia.

This new approach has been jointly developed by the two company and aims to foster innovation within a creative environment, with project teams set to work on developing new therapy approaches for cancer.

Bernhard Kirschbaum, head of global research and early development at Merck Serono, said: "Our goal is to seed and boost early stage research projects by placing them into a vibrant environment, bringing in top young talent to work at the interface between industry and academia."

This comes after Merck Serono announced a new collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb last month that will involve the distribution of a popular diabetes therapy to Chinese patients.