MSD Launches IDEA Studios to Fuel Health Care Innovation
June 18, 2024 8:00 am ET
IDEA Studios will be strategically located in Asian and European innovation hubs to partner closely with early-stage companies focused on improving patient care
Zurich, June. 18, 2024 – MSD (tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA) (NYSE: MRK) announced today the launch of its IDEA Studios, a new initiative led by the MSD Global Health Innovation Fund (MGHIF) and MSD’s regional teams to fund and collaborate with entrepreneurs and early-stage companies focused on delivering transformative health care solutions.
Announced at the HLTH Europe conference, MSD IDEA Studio Asia Pacific and MSD IDEA Studio Europe will combine the company’s industry-leading corporate venture arm with the deep health care expertise of its regional business teams. Strategically located in the vibrant innovation hubs of Singapore and Berlin, respectively, the IDEA Studios will create an entrepreneurial environment and facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas to foster breakthrough initiatives.
“At MSD, we are constantly seeking to apply digital and data science technologies to improve patient outcomes and help accelerate our purpose of saving and improving lives,” said Joseph Romanelli, president of MSD Human Health International. “The launch of MSD IDEA Studios will offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to leverage our deep health care expertise to accelerate their impact and achieve meaningful innovation to improve patients’ lives.”
As part of these efforts, MSD business teams in Asia Pacific and Europe will collaborate closely with MGHIF investors to select and fund local entrepreneurs who are developing innovative health care solutions. The MGHIF plans to invest US $38 million across both regions during the next three years. Key areas of interest within IDEA Studio Asia Pacific include access to vaccinations and cancer therapies. MSD IDEA Studio Europe will look for innovative ways to diagnose disease earlier, monitor patients to enhance medication adherence, and enhance clinical trial recruitment.
“We are excited to build on MGHIF’s track record of growth investing to collaborate with our colleagues in the Asia Pacific and European regions via the MSD IDEA Studio,” said Joel Krikston, managing director venture investments, MGHIF. “We aim to fuel innovative solutions through strategic investments that will ultimately enable better access to medicines and vaccines for patients.”
Those interested in learning more about the IDEA Studios or wishing to apply can visit: https://www.msdideastudio.com
About MSD IDEA Studio Asia Pacific
Based in Singapore, the MSD IDEA Studio Asia Pacific is actively seeking opportunities to fund and partner with entrepreneurs and early-stage companies across the region. Key areas of initial interest include innovative solutions to improving access to vaccinations, and cancer therapies.
About MSD IDEA Studio Europe
Based in Berlin, the MSD IDEA Studio Europe is actively seeking opportunities to fund and partner with entrepreneurs and early-stage companies across the region. Areas of initial interest include innovative ways to enable early diagnosis of disease, remote patient monitoring solutions to enhance medication adherence and applications to streamline clinical trial operations and recruitment.
About MSD
At MSD, known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA in the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable, and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.msd.com and connect with us on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and YouTube.
About MSD Global Health Innovation Fund
MSD Global Health Innovation Fund (MGHIF) is a growth investor partnering with innovative digital health and data science companies that facilitate and optimize biopharmaceutical operations with the goal of improving patient care. This investment strategy connects innovative companies with complementary technologies to develop integrated health care solutions. MGHIF has $500M under management and provides growth capital to emerging health care technology companies worldwide while leveraging the vast R&D-based, global resources of MSD. With a vision that data will be the currency in health care, GHIF invests broadly in digital health. MGHIF invests in platform companies with proven technologies or business models where MSD’s expertise and perspectives can accelerate revenue growth and enhance value creation.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
Media contacts:
Garry Daniels (Singapore)
+(65)9739–9970
Ariane Malfertheiner (Germany)
+(49)162–3617890
Ariane.maria.malfertheiner@msd.de
Investor contacts:
Peter Dannenbaum
+(732)594-1579
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