Merck Serono (EMD Serono in the United States and Canada) is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. In September 2006, Merck KGaA announced its intent to purchase the majority of Serono shares from Ernesto Bertarelli and the Bertarelli family. The Merck-Serono merger was announced on September 21, 2006. Merck KGaA and Serono operated as distinct entities until at least January 2007. As of January 5, 2007, Merck held the majority shares of Serono. The new company is called Merck Serono International S.A.
Merck KGaA is a completely separate company from the US company Merck & Co.. Therefore, in the US & Canada, Merck Serono is known as EMD Serono, Inc.
Drugs they market include Erbitux, UFT, Rebif, Novantrone, Gonal, Ovidrel/Ovitrelle, Zorbtive, Luveris, Saizen, Serostim, Glucophage, Concor, Euthyrox and Raptiva.
Collaborative ResearchIn addition to internal research and development activities Merck Serono is also involved in publicly funded collaborative research projects, with other industrial and academic partners. One example in the area of non-clinical safety assessment is the InnoMed PredTox. The company is expanding its activities in joint research projects within the framework of the Innovative Medicines Initiative of EFPIA and the European Commission.
