Question There are several potential sites across Korea—what made Daejeon the best location for establishing the Bio Processing Center? How does this align with Merck’s broader strategy?

Director Emrae Jung: Merck sees the Asia-Pacific region as a key market for future growth, and within that, Korea’s pharmaceutical and biotech sectors are experiencing exceptional growth. When you consider Korea’s global competitiveness, it made strategic sense to invest here.

I’d also like to highlight Merck’s supply strategy, which we call in-region-for-region. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced just how critical it is to manufacture and supply products in line with local customer needs. Based on that strategy, Merck determined that it needed a strong base in the Asia-Pacific region.

Now, why Daejeon? It’s Korea’s leading science city, home to high-tech companies, major research institutes, and top-tier universities. With that infrastructure, Daejeon stood out as the optimal location for supporting biotech customers across the Asia-Pacific—from clinical stages to commercial manufacturing. (Merck actually evaluated around ten candidate sites across the region, including several in Korea.)

Daejeon is also home to key research institutions such as KAIST, KRIBB (Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology), and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The fact that a biotech cluster was already forming there was another important factor. Above all, the strong support and cooperation from the Daejeon city government played a decisive role. The timing and alignment between corporate and government efforts were ideal, and Merck’s global headquarters recognized Korea’s growth potential and the momentum of its pharmaceutical and biotech industries as strong positives.
 

Question As you mentioned, Daejeon offers many advantages—strong communication channels for collaboration, solid research infrastructure, and future growth potential. Among these, which factors did you consider most important?

Director Emrae Jung: Talent was the most critical factor. Korea’s bio industry, in truth, doesn’t have a very long history, and the talent pool is still relatively limited. That’s why the presence of multiple research institutes and universities in Daejeon—institutions that can train and supply skilled professionals—is a major opportunity for us. It means we can expect broader access to qualified talent over time.

Another key factor was the strong support from the Daejeon city government—particularly from the mayor himself. (Mayor Jang Woo Lee even visited our headquarters in Germany to advocate for bringing the Bio Processing Center to Daejeon.) On top of that, the city already had the foundational infrastructure: prominent research institutes, universities, and a number of small-to-mid-sized biotech companies. While the scale isn’t massive yet, the ecosystem is well-formed and growing.
 

Question What specific services will the 해외 바카라 사이트 Processing Center provide?

Director Emrae Jung: The Bio Processing Center will supply key products and solutions needed for development and manufacturing to customers across the Asia-Pacific region. Specifically, we’ll offer dry powder cell culture media, process solutions, and small-scale manufacturing under what we call “Pre-GMP.” This small-scale production is especially critical during the clinical development phase.

In addition, we plan to produce products like sterile sampling systems, which will be supplied to pharmaceutical, 해외 바카라 사이트tech, and 해외 바카라 사이트pharma companies throughout the region.

Question Let’s shift the focus a bit. When Merck announced plans to enter Daejeon, how did other biotech companies and related institutions respond? Did they see Merck’s services as something the ecosystem genuinely needed?

Director Emrae Jung: We’ve been invited to participate in the annual event hosted by the Bio-Healthcare Association and the Daejeon city government, where we’ve had the chance to meet with other companies in the area. Many of them expressed high expectations for the Bio Processing Center. There’s strong interest in the possibility that Merck’s presence will bring shared infrastructure, knowledge, and a broader product portfolio to the local biotech ecosystem.

Beyond companies, we’re also collaborating with KAIST to establish a joint research space called the “Experience Lab.” We’ve set up facilities and labs—like the Merck Supply Center—where researchers can access products directly. We’re optimistic that more such opportunities will arise.

Looking ahead, we see the potential for Daejeon to grow in the same way as Songdo, where we already have an Operations Center and the M Lab™ Collaboration Center. We expect similar partnerships and collaborations to expand in Daejeon as well.
 

Question Let me ask a more critical question. While many in the bio industry welcome the presence of foreign companies, there are also concerns about potential risks such as talent drain or technology leakage. Could you speak to Merck’s long-term vision and how sustainable these partnerships will be?

Director Emrae Jung: As you know, our business is divided into three sectors: Electronics, Healthcare, and Life Science. The Daejeon center will be the first production base under the Life Science division. But we’ve already been operating in Korea since 1989, starting with our Electronics business, and we now have 11 sites across the country. We maintain strong, long-term relationships with leading Korean companies and provide a wide portfolio—from research to production.

We’ve also built deep trust around critical aspects like intellectual property. That foundation of trust is something we’re now bringing into the Life Science space as well. Based on this experience, I believe we can continue building long-term, sustainable partnerships with our Korean partners in a way that ensures mutual growth and confidence.
 

Question Let’s talk about the relationship between Merck and Daejeon from a broader perspective. Globally, one defining trait of major pharmaceutical companies seems to be a focus on purpose—doing meaningful work beyond just profitability. Would you say that’s also true for your work in Daejeon?

Director Emrae Jung: Merck has operated for 365 years with a guiding principle of “advancing human progress.” We place strong emphasis on purpose-driven business, and our commitment to sustainability is a key part of that.

Daejeon is no exception. We’ve incorporated sustainable solutions into the center’s design, including the adoption of renewable energy and other green initiatives. The facility is already being built with these plans in place, and we’re preparing for full carbon neutrality by 2040. It reflects our belief that meaningful, long-term contributions must also be environmentally responsible.
 

Question Given the scale and significance of the new center, it seems likely to serve as a major catalyst for Korea’s pharmaceutical and biotech industries, especially in new drug development. Looking ahead, how does Merck plan to promote technology transfer and knowledge sharing with Korean partners? How will local researchers and companies be able to engage and collaborate?

Director Emrae Jung: Merck is already engaged in a range of partnerships and collaborative efforts in Korea. As I mentioned earlier, our M Lab™ Collaboration Center in Songdo supports clients from the early research stage through to bioprocess design, product and process development, equipment support, and training. Over 100 companies have conducted scale-up experiments at the center. We call this our ecosystem model—designed so that all participants benefit and grow together.

We’ve also contributed to the K-NIBRT project, a Korean initiative modeled after Ireland’s biopharma training program, by supporting hands-on education and training facilities. Beyond biopharmaceutical manufacturing, our Life Science business provides end-to-end solutions under our “Science and Lab Solutions (SLS)” unit—everything from reagents and lab supplies to research tools and instruments for institutions. This allows us to support the entire value chain, from early-stage research through commercial-scale biomanufacturing.

Our partnership with KAIST is also built on this platform of research tools and solutions. In the bioprocessing space, we collaborate directly with companies at the commercialization stage. In short, partnership is the core of our business. Our goal is to replicate the successful collaboration model we established in Songdo at the new Bio Processing Production Center in Daejeon—and to expand it further by identifying new partners and building a win-win framework for the future.
 

Question How would you like the Merck Bio Processing Center to be remembered by biotech companies in the future?

Director Emrae Jung: Korea’s biopharmaceutical market has been growing at an average annual rate of over 20%. The Bio Processing Center in Daejeon is equipped to provide critical products and solutions—like those I mentioned earlier—to pharmaceutical and biotech companies quickly and efficiently. Even just by offering that infrastructure, I believe we can make a meaningful contribution to building out the local ecosystem.

Cell culture media, for example, are essential in the upstream phase of production. We have a diverse portfolio developed through extensive R&D, and we often work with clients to create customized products or manufacture based on their specific requests. With this center, we’ll be able to produce and deliver those products directly from Daejeon.

Because we’ll support everything from early development through to commercialization and manufacturing, we hope this site becomes a cornerstone of our in-region, for-region strategy—a key production hub tailored to the needs of the Asia-Pacific region.