Merck Opens $188M Drug Manufacturing Plant in China

International pharmaceutical company Merck, one of the world’s largest drug manufacturers, opened its biggest manufacturing facility outside of Europe – a new, $188 million manufacturing plant in Nantong, China – on Nov. 4, according to a report Monday from the English-language website of Chinese state-run news service Xinhua.

“By dedicating the largest manufacturing plant outside Europe to the production of pharmaceuticals to address widespread health care needs in China, Merck is connected to China more than ever,” Merck biopharma’s managing director Mark Horn said, according to the news service.

Located in China’s Jiangsu province, the Nantong plant has been under construction since 2013 and is expected to provide 10 billion dosages of medication for diabetes, cardiovascular ailments, and thyroid disorders by 2021. According to Xinhua, the plant will release its first run of pharmaceuticals in the latter half of 2017.

Merck said it had further plans to invest in a life science center close to the Nantong facility that will make “high-purity inorganic salts, cell culture media products, and ready-to-use media,” the news service reported.

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