Partnering with the Best R&D Organizations Outside of MRL Will Support Merck’s Growth into the Future
	Rosetta: A deal on the fasttrack When Merck and Rosetta Inpharmatics executives met at corporate headquarters in Whitehouse Station, N.J., in March 2001, they were looking to broaden a collaborative agreement that existed between the two companies. Merck had for some time employed Rosetta’s genomics technology for analyzing large numbers of cells very rapidly in the search for potential drug targets. But what the Merck executives heard from Rosetta that day about their technology plans for the future set them thinking about more than a collaboration. Answering the call to action The speed of the acquisition demonstrates the efficiency of the external partnering team once it is called to action. Rosetta’s board authorized a go-ahead for the necessary due diligence and negotiation of various agreements within 10 days of the Merck offer. Merck lawyers and financial experts hit the road to Rosetta’s home base in Washington State almost immediately. The financial, legal, marketing and other studies were satisfactorily completed and the arrangement wrapped up about three weeks after a Merck executive raised the idea of an acquisition to Rosetta. Discovering breakthrough medicines – the cornerstone of Merck’s Strategy for Growth – is what will separate the winners from the also-rans in our industry. Along with the rest of the industry, Merck’s R&D budget has increased significantly, from $1.3 billion in 1995 to an estimated $2.9 billion in 2002. We have integrated genomics and DNA-based research throughout our laboratories and are using genomics research to identify targets for potential new medicines and vaccines. In addition to science initiated in our own laboratories, we are employing one of Merck’s greatest strengths – the dynamic scientific engine known as Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) – as the springboard for a series of external alliances and niche acquisitions that have bolstered and will continue to bolster existing franchises and help create new ones in markets with unmet medical needs. Leading from strength Merck has forged alliances with academia and has been forming joint ventures and licensing agreements for years. More than one-third of Merck's human health revenues are derived from external arrangements, with two of the five key drivers of growth – Fosamax and Cozaar/Hyzaar – stemming from licensing arrangements. But today there is a difference. A new strategy, being carried out by a high-level, cross-functional team, is dedicated to tapping the outside world for whatever is needed to strengthen the basic pillars of Merck research and to create new ones in such promising areas as diabetes, oncology, neuroscience and genomics. Building a virtual global lab Members of the expanded team are drawing upon the time and energy of hundreds of other Merck employees, including Dr. Bennett Shapiro, MRL executive vice president, who is charged with building a virtual global laboratory. As a result, senior MRL executives are forging even closer ties to counterparts at 19 universities for recruitment and biomedical research purposes. Each executive has responsibility for ties with a particular university, be it Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT or Cambridge. “We have one of the best scientific engines in the pharmaceutical world,” says Dr. Shapiro, “a view that, I believe, is shared by most scientists practicing modern biomedical research. Yet, as good as we are, there is much cutting-edge research going on outside of Merck. We intend to tap into that research by using our scientists as a primary consultant base. “The one message I give to every scientist here who is running a project is to think of himself or herself as being in charge of all research in his or her field. Not just the 30 people working in our labs but the 3,000 or more people in the world working in that particular field.” Licensing new age tools Beyond compounds, Merck’s licensing teams also are charged with looking at new technologies. New research tools, especially in the biotechnology and genomics areas, are expanding and accelerating biomedical research and discovery at an exponential rate. To cite one statistic: five years ago, all the drugs in the world addressed only 500 molecular targets. New technology has boosted that number to perhaps 10,000. As we move beyond genomics into the era of proteomics and pharmacogenomics, even that figure may multiply. The difficult task is to choose those targets that will lead to new medicines. So, we are reaching into the biotech world for technology that will keep us at the forefront of biomedical research. “Take our promising vaccines,” says Dr. Shapiro, "Without enabling technologies licensed in from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia/Wistar (rotavirus vaccine) and CSL of Australia (HPV vaccine), we could not do these projects. Similarly, licensed technology plays a major role in our HIV/AIDS vaccine research.” Making Merck a preferred partner Merck’s high scientific standards and reputation for success attract top-notch collaborators. For example, one collaboration, begun in 1996 and expanded since, is with Axys Pharmaceuticals (recently acquired by Celera), a South San Francisco-based biotech concern that focuses upon the discovery and development of small molecule drugs. “Merck sets very high scientific standards that require the utmost in scientific excellence,” says Bill Newell, senior vice president, business and corporate development at Celera. “They are higher than some companies we work with but, if you reach them, you know you have a real opportunity to develop drugs.” Strategic acquisitions of companies like Rosetta Inpharmatics and a heightened focus on licensing and external partnerships are all elements of our strategy to help us turn cutting-edge science into products.
	Back to top Back to Breakthroughs >

Copyright © 1995-2002 Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. All rights reserved.