Merck Life Science’s top executives in India tell Scrip how they are helping biologics companies in APAC on their mRNA therapy journey. In the wide-ranging discussion, use of AI, the startup environment for biotechs and the changing face of manufacturing in India also came up.

Speakers from BMS, Takeda, UNICEF and more discussed how a shift in R&D focus, free flow of data on animal and human health, public sector investment and higher regulatory flexibility are key to make ‘One Health’ work and prevent future pandemics

Benoit Opsomer, vice-president and head of bioprocessing, Asia Pacific, Merck Life Science, explains how recent targeted CDMO buyouts put the German group in pole position with services across the mRNA value chain, even as it supports global players such as BioNTech. Striking multi-country expansion of manufacturing footprint, including in China, is also underway amid rising demand for biopharma single-use assemblies.

Codagenix hopes a 2023 data readout from its intranasal RSV vaccine will be an inflection point, even as GSK and Pfizer look to establish a lead in the segment. Meanwhile, a second cancer candidate has been added to Codagenix's preclinical pipeline and data for its COVID-19 vaccine and TNBC oncolytic virus are expected next year, CEO J Robert Coleman tells Scrip.