BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Billionaires make bid for former Merck Serono headquarters

December 8, 2012 1:35 AM UTC

A pair of billionaires made an undisclosed bid to purchase the former headquarters of the Merck Serono biotech division of Merck KGaA (Xetra:MRK) in Geneva, Switzerland. Hansjorg Wyss, the founder of Synthes Inc., and Ernesto Bertarelli, the former CEO of Serono S.A, created Campus Biotech S.A. (Geneva, Switzerland) to make the offer and to head the site conversion of the complex, which was put on the market in July. If the offer is accepted, Campus Biotech will establish a newly formed Wyss Institute at the location to support the research activities of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, the University of Geneva and other potential academic institutions. The Wyss Foundation will endow the project with initial capital of up to CHF125 million ($135 million) over six years, which would fund about 120-150 positions. The institute will focus on research areas that include neuroprosthetics and the regeneration of cardiovascular, muscular and neuromuscular tissue. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) acquired Synthes this year. ...