Merck Announces the Launch of the Merck Digital Sciences Studio to Help Healthcare Startups Quickly Bring their Innovations to Market
June 29 2022 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and
Canada, today announced the launch of the Merck Digital Sciences
Studio (MDSS) to enable the generation of innovative technologies
for drug discovery and development. MDSS will support early-stage
biomedical startups with direct investment, access to powerful
Azure Cloud computing and opportunities to pilot their technologies
in collaboration with discovery and clinical scientists at Merck.
Starting today, Merck welcomes applications for 12 spots for the
first MDSS cohort. Startups developing artificial intelligence (AI)
and machine learning (ML) applications will be prioritized.
“The biopharmaceutical industry has only just started to harness
the tremendous opportunity presented by emerging technological
developments in AI, and ML,” said Fiona Marshall, senior vice
president, Discovery, Preclinical and Translational Medicine at
Merck Research Laboratories. “The MDSS will provide a collaborative
and entrepreneurial setting where scientists have access to the
tools and expertise to fuel important innovations that advance drug
discovery and development.”
The MDSS is a collaboration between Merck and the New Jersey
Innovation Institute (NJII), a New Jersey Institute of Technology
corporation, with investments from the Merck Global Health
Innovation Fund, Northpond Ventures and McKesson Ventures.
Technology support will be provided by Microsoft for Startups. The
MDSS will have locations in Newark, NJ and Cambridge, MA.
“Startups in the biopharmaceutical industry fuel innovation,
create high-quality jobs and generate great opportunities for a
stronger, more diverse and inclusive life-sciences ecosystem,” said
Simon Nynens, CEO of NJII. “NJII looks forward to providing the
programming, coaching, and connections to bring these ideas to
life.”
Innovative digital sciences can transform approach to
discovery
Digital technologies are already enabling innovation in
biomarker and drug discovery and development in the areas of target
identification, lead discovery, pre-clinical development, and
clinical development. Through MDSS, the collaborators will
selectively accelerate and pilot novel and innovative digital
technologies that are strategically aligned with Merck’s life
science research.
“As digital transformation continues to redefine what’s possible
in healthcare, startups are at the forefront of delivering new
approaches and technologies to the industry,” said Sally Frank,
Global Lead, Health and Life Sciences, Microsoft for Startups.
“Merck Digital Sciences Studio provides an onramp for startup
founders to quickly bring their ideas to market with the strength
of a global healthcare leader like Merck behind them. Through
Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub startups in the MDSS will gain
access to powerful technologies including Microsoft 365 and Azure
as well as expert business advice and technical support.”
Currently the program plans to include six startups at each of
the Newark, NJ and Cambridge, MA venues. Entrepreneurs interested
in applying, please visit the MDSS website.
McDermott Will & Emery provided counsel and FLG Partners
provided CFO services in the creation of MDSS.
About Merck
At Merck, known as MSD outside of 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.merck.com and connect
with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
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 the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease
(COVID-19); 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, 2021 and the
company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
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