SERONO TO OPEN R&D CENTRE IN ISRAEL

Swiss drug manufacturer Serono has announced that it will open a research and development (R&D) facility in Israel through its subsidiary InterPharm, in order to study aspects of genetic engineering. In 2004, Serono shut its InterPharm Laboratories unit in the country and laid off most of the staff. However, after negotiations with Israel's Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour, Serono has agreed to invest in the facility, which will be located initially in Ness Ziona.

Serono is Israel's largest foreign investor in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. It has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in R&D and production facilities in the country through InterPharm and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

The Swiss company operates subsidiaries and manufacturing facilities in 45 countries, markets its products in over 100 countries and operates three business segments; Pharmaceuticals, Bioscience and Veterinary. Serono's principal product areas are reproductive health, growth, AIDS/degenerative diseases and multiple sclerosis/immunology. The company's main R&D areas are infertility, growth, degenerative diseases and immunology/oncology.