Merck Opens BioReliance® Facility in Darmstadt to Support Drug Product Release in Europe

Merck opens a €25M testing facility at its Darmstadt headquarters, strengthening drug release testing for European biopharmaceutical markets.

16 Jul 2026 | Darmstadt, Germany

• New 2,000-square-meter facility expands Merck’s global testing network with commercial drug substance and drug product release testing and GMP-compliant stability studies
• Strategic location near major clinical trial hubs strengthens support for biopharmaceutical companies bringing therapies to European markets
• Darmstadt site joins Merck’s global BioReliance^® testing network, enhancing end-to-end analytical and biosafety testing services

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today opened a new €25 million BioReliance^® testing facility at its global headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany. The facility expands access to commercial drug substance and drug product release testing as well as stability testing for biopharmaceutical companies developing and commercializing therapies in Europe.

“As demand for biologics and novel therapies continues to grow, our customers need reliable, compliant testing capabilities closer to where their products are developed and commercialized,” said Paolo Carli, Head of Advanced Solutions for the Life Science business of Merck. “Our new testing facility combines best-in-class analytical characterization services with more than 75 years of BioReliance^® expertise to help our European customers move critical therapies toward patients with greater speed and confidence.”

The 2,000-square-meter facility is designed to help customers meet European requirements for in-region drug substance and drug product release testing and expands the company’s ability to support customers from drug development through commercialization. The site will also offer Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant stability studies for monoclonal antibodies and cell therapies, addressing the growing demand for biologics testing across Europe. The facility will employ a growing team with headcount projected to expand significantly over the next few years to support client demand.

Located close to major clinical trial sites in Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy, the Darmstadt facility is strategically positioned to support biopharmaceutical companies seeking to release drug products into European markets. By adding these capabilities in the heart of Europe, Merck is strengthening its support for customers managing increasingly complex development, quality and regulatory requirements. 

Merck’s BioReliance^® sites form a global testing network that allows customers to scale across geographies and work with the company across continents – backed by consistent quality standards. The BioReliance^® portfolio draws on more than 75 years of expertise with one of the broadest biosafety testing and analytical development service offerings in the industry, covering both traditional and novel modalities. Among Merck’s leading technologies is the Blazar^® platform, which is shifting the biosafety testing paradigm from traditional methods to rapid molecular approaches and significantly reducing testing timelines for virus detection. The Aptegra^® CHO genetic stability testing streamlines a previously complex and time-intensive process into a single assay. As novel modalities continue to reshape drug development, Merck continues to invest in the platforms, infrastructure and expertise needed to help customers bring the next generation of therapies to patients.

The opening of the Darmstadt facility is one of several significant investments Merck has made to grow its global contract testing footprint. In 2024, the company opened a €290 million biosafety testing facility in Rockville, Maryland, USA and expanded biosafety testing capacity by 40% across its Glasgow and Stirling sites through a €22 million investment. The new BioReliance^® facility also reflects Merck’s continued commitment to its global headquarters in Darmstadt, where Merck has invested approximately €2.5 billion since 2015.