Germany’s Merck KgaA (XETRA: MRK) unit Merck Serono is one of the most active healthcare corporations in Israel. The company, which has allotted €10 million to an incubator for new Israeli companies at its R&D center in Yavne, Inter-Lab, has now added two new companies to the project: Chanbio and Metabomed.
Chanbio is engaged in the discovery of antibodies that act on ion channels in the cell, a mechanism that could help treat multiple sclerosis. It should be remembered that Merck Serono’s lead product for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, Rebif, was developed in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science. The current product is in the very early development stage, but the incubator exists precisely for products like this, says Inter-Lab managing director Regine Shevach. She predicts that 7-8 more companies will join the incubator by the end of 2014.
Merck Serono Israel Bioincubator manager Simone Botti says, “Ion channels belong to an important group of disease mechanisms. This field has the potential for the development of therapies for the treatment of a wide range of diseases.
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