German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was committed to supporting the pharmaceutical sector by granting tax benefits to research and cutting red tape for trials, at a ceremony with Merck, which is investing 1.5 billion euros ($1.61 billion) in Germany.
The drugmaker plans to use its new advanced life sciences research center in the western city of Darmstadt, on which it is spending 300 million euros, to develop services and platforms digital technologies designed to help scientists work more efficiently.
This center, which employs around 550 people, is part of a larger investment announced in 2022.
Mr Scholz said he wanted Germany to build on a 2.3 billion euro investment by Eli Lilly in the western town of Alzey and other development plans of Novo Nordisk, BioNTech, AbbVie and Roche for Europe’s largest economy.
Following the success of BioNTech, which partnered with US giant Pfizer for its COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, the government has sought to improve conditions for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.
I want the technologies that the whole world needs to continue to be developed here,” Mr. Scholz said, adding: “The government will continue to support this sector: “The government will continue to support this new beginning with all its might.
He said new policies passed recently would help researchers access health data and speed up clinical trials.
($1 = 0.9325 euros) (Reporting by Andreas Rinke Editing by Madeline Chambers Editing by Rachel More)
