Genomic advancements

Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) and BGI (formerly known as Beijing Genomics Institute) have recently announced the signing of a statement of intent to initiate and develop a working relationship in which they will explore areas of mutual interest in healthcare research and discovery. Their common goal will be to create value from the massive output of genomic information enabled by next-generation, high-throughput DNA sequencing and analysis technologies.

Commenting on the statement of intent, Peter S. Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said, “The science and technology of genomics and epigenetics offer the potential to transform medicine. We are excited to move forward towards a collaboration with BGI in our efforts to advance these areas of research.”

Both companies intend to build the infrastructure to support collaboration in areas such as biomarkers, target validation and drug de-risking and development among others.

For more information on BGI visit www.genomics.cn and www.bgiamericas.com and for MSD, please visit www.merck.com