BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Venture double-double

Why Merck KGaA is again expanding its strategic venture arm

June 13, 2016 7:00 AM UTC

With a new CEO who is prioritizing innovation, Merck KGaA is expanding its venture arm for the second time in hopes it will deliver even more deal flow to the corporate business development team. The strategic investor, which is changing its name to Merck Ventures B.V. from MS Ventures, now will have up to €300 million ($340.7 million) under management and will focus on all business sectors of interest to the parent company.

Merck formed the venture arm in 2009 with €40 million ($45.4 million) to invest in biotech. In 2013, the pharma increased the fund's size to €150 million ($170.3 million), more than doubling the amount for biotech investing, and adding €30 million ($38.9 million) for spinouts resulting from a restructuring of Merck's pharma unit, plus €10 million for an Israeli start-up incubator...