Merck and AAPS strengthen their connection through science and leadership.
On Monday, October 21, 2019, three American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) volunteer and staff leaders, Alice Till (AAPS interim executive director), Erik Burns (AAPS director of corporate engagement), and Mark Arnold (2020 AAPS PharmSci 360 Scientific Programming Committee vice chair), visited the Merck Rahway campus. The visit was hosted by Jie Ren, Huaping Tang, Jim DiNunzio, and Yongchao Su from Merck, who are also AAPS members, and aimed to strengthen the strategic collaboration between AAPS as the largest pharmaceutical community and Merck as an industrial leader of biopharmaceutical companies.
During the visit, Arnold gave an invited seminar on the landscape shifts in drug modalities and future opportunities for pharmaceutical research and development (R&D). Merck colleagues also showcased the most-recent progress of their new FLEx center construction. The FLEx center will lead the way toward flexible manufacturing and cutting-edge concepts of the 3DP lab, which revolutionizes pharmaceutical R&D.
Collaboration opportunities between AAPS and Merck were further identified to bolster Merck’s scientific impact across the pharmaceutical communities and facilitate talent acquisition. For instance, AAPS will be working with Merck leadership to create custom training programs for Merck staff. Additionally, AAPS and Merck will collaborate around Merck’s internal Innovation Day to identify innovative areas for new educational opportunities, such as an AAPS workshop or webinar. Lastly, AAPS and Merck will encourage Merck staff to further their professional development while also advancing science through leadership positions within AAPS.
The one-day visit served as an important milestone to open up the next chapter of a sustaining and fruitful partnership between Merck and AAPS in 2020 and beyond.
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