Merck & Co., Inc. has established an Asia R&D headquarters in Beijing, China for innovative drug discovery and development. The new facility is part of the company’s $1.5 billion investment in R&D in China during the next five years.

"The establishment of the MSD Asia R&D headquarters represents an important milestone as we implement our strategy of building capabilities, and relationships to succeed in fast growing geographic regions," said Peter S. Kim, Ph.D., president, Merck Research Laboratories. "By strategically locating in China, we are able to complement our existing R&D capabilities, and facilitate new collaborations with scientists in the region and across emerging markets."

The facility will consist of 47,000 square meters of office and lab space. The first phase of construction is scheduled to be completed by 2014 and will provide capacity for approximately 600 employees in the areas of drug discovery, translational research, clinical development, regulatory affairs and external scientific research programs.