MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has opened its new €290 million biosafety testing facility in Rockville, MD, to meet growing demand for biosafety testing and analytical development.  
 
The 23,000-square-meter facility will house biosafety testing, analytical development, and cell banking manufacturing services. It consolidates labs currently spread across four buildings into a single facility. This aims to increase collaboration between scientists and enable a higher level of automation and digitalization to increase Right First Time (RFT). 
 
The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has made significant investments over the last five years to expand its biosafety testing capabilities. The company’s global biosafety testing network includes sites in Shanghai, China; Singapore; Stirling and Glasgow, UK; and Rockville, MD, USA. 
 
The new site will feature advanced testing capabilities, including a rapid methods package, designed to accelerate virus testing of bulk harvest material. This package is the first to include the Blazar CHO Animal Origin Free (AOF) panel, a targeted molecular method for detecting virus families. By combining the Blazar CHO AOF panel with assays for mycoplasma, sterility, and retrovirus-like particle detection, test results can be obtained in just 14 days, compared to 35 days with traditional assay methods. 

“This expansion is the largest investment in contract testing in the company’s history and will allow us to drive automation and technology development in one integrated hub,” said Benjamin Hein, Head of Life Science Services, Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. “It reflects our commitment to providing our clients with disruptive platforms that shorten biosafety testing timelines, meet the growing global demand, and ensure the safety of the world’s medicines for patients.”