GENEVA, February 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
- Merck Serono Innovation Cup 2011 is a Corporate Initiative for the Professional Development of Post-Graduate Students Interested in a Career in the Pharmaceutical Industry
- Opportunity for Selected Students to Develop Entrepreneurial Skills and to Team up With Experienced Professionals to Advance a Novel Idea Into a Convincing Business Plan During a One-week Summer Camp
Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announces today the launch of the Merck Serono Innovation Cup 2011, an initiative offering the chance to advanced students in life sciences and business administration programs to attend a one-week training program with Merck Serono professionals. Twenty selected participants will have the opportunity to learn about the pharmaceutical industry through presentations provided by Merck Serono's management and external experts, and to work together with their peers to develop concrete business cases, coached by Merck Serono retired professionals.
"Building talent today for tomorrow's business is a strategic priority at Merck Serono. One way to achieve this is by contributing to the personal development of talented post-graduate students who have the potential to become the leaders of tomorrow. During the Summer Innovation Camp, students will learn the fundamentals of Research and Development within the pharmaceutical industry, the implications of discovering and developing new drugs that address the unmet needs of patients, and the requirements to successfully bring those drugs to the market," said Dietmar Eidens, Head of Global Human Resources at Merck Serono.
"The Innovation Cup program was also developed to provide a forum for exchanging ideas on medical innovation that can truly make a difference in people's lives. Students will have access to highly skilled professionals and will receive the required training to transform those ideas into real business plans. It's a unique opportunity for them to get a first hand experience in entrepreneurship in the pharmaceutical industry," added Susan Herbert, Head of Portfolio Development at Merck Serono.
The Summer Camp training week will take place near Frankfurt, Germany, on August 1-5, 2011. In addition to attending the various presentations, students will work on practical business cases in Merck Serono's core therapeutic areas - Oncology, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rheumatology, Fertility and Endocrinology - and be given the opportunity to team up with peers and a Merck Serono retired professional to transform their most promising ideas into a business plan. Each plan will be presented to a grand jury comprised of members of Merck Serono's senior management as well as external experts, who will award a prize of EUR 10,000 to the team presenting the most convincing plan.
The training program is open[1] to students pursuing advanced master and Ph.D. degrees, in life sciences as well as MBA students, from all over the world. Further details on the application process and the full training program are available on http://innovationcup.merckserono.com.
About Merck Serono
Merck Serono is the division for innovative prescription pharmaceuticals of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a global pharmaceutical and chemical company. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Merck Serono discovers, develops, manufactures and markets innovative small molecules and biopharmaceuticals to help patients with unmet medical needs. In the United States and Canada, EMD Serono operates as a separately incorporated affiliate of Merck Serono.
Merck Serono has leading brands serving patients with cancer (Erbitux(R), cetuximab), multiple sclerosis (Rebif(R), interferon beta-1a), infertility (Gonal-f(R), follitropin alfa), endocrine and metabolic disorders (Saizen(R) and Serostim(R), somatropin), (Kuvan(R), sapropterin dihydrochloride) as well as cardiometabolic diseases (Glucophage(R), metformin), (Concor(R), bisoprolol), (Euthyrox(R), levothyroxine). Not all products are available in all markets.
With an annual R&D expenditure of more than EUR 1 billion, Merck Serono is committed to growing its business in specialist-focused therapeutic areas including neurodegenerative diseases, oncology, fertility and endocrinology, as well as new areas potentially arising out of research and development in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
About Merck
Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of EUR 7.7 billion in 2009, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by approximately 40,000 employees in 64 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.
For more information, please visit http://www.merckserono.com or http://www.merck.de
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[1] The Merck Serono Innovation Cup is not open to US Healthcare Providers.
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