Merck Opens Microbiology Application Lab in Jigani, Bengaluru

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today
announced the opening of its first Microbiology Application and Training (MAT) Lab
in Jigani, Bengaluru, offering facilities and technical expertise to support the India
life science community on microbial quality control capability development.

Veena Panicker, Head of BioMonitoring, Merck Life Science in India, said,
“According to IBEF, the Indian biotechnology industry was valued at US$ 70.2
billion in 2020 and is expected to reach US$ 150 billion by 2025. Merck’s MAT lab
will be a space for pharma and biopharma companies to collaborate and enhance
their capability in microbiology analysis.”
“Merck is a global leader with proven track record in technical expertise, training,
method development and feasibility trials. Partnering with our customers, we can
support them in product demonstrations, hands-on training, formal bioprocessing
educational courses and experiments, as well as apply best practices and new
approaches to develop, optimize and scale-up processes and simplify global
technology transfer,” Veena added.

With an investment of €200,000, the MAT Centre spans an area size of 1,100 sqft.
The testing services offered in the Lab includes sterility testing, rapid bioburden
testing, pyrogen Testing, advance Membrane filtration and other pharma QC
microbiology applications. The MAT Lab includes a vibrant space for certified
training, application support, feasibilities studies and method development for
Pharma and Biopharma industries.
In the global pharmaceuticals sector, India is a significant and rising player. India
is the world’s largest supplier of generic medications, accounting for 20% of the
worldwide supply by volume and supplying about 60% of the global vaccination
demand**,” said Sreenath NS, Country Speaker, Merck India and Managing
Director, Merck Life Science. The newly launched MAT Lab is a space that
enables pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers to work side-by-side
with our global microbiology and application experts to solve critical process
developments and production challenges.”
The Lab offers customizable solutions and services that help pharmaceutical and
biopharma companies as well as regulatory to improve their processes from drug
discovery, development to manufacturing.