May 24 2013
The sale of the former Merck Serono site, located in the centre of Geneva, Switerland, has been finalized. The buyer is the consortium behind the Campus Biotech initiative: the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the University of Geneva, Hansjörg Wyss, the Wyss Foundation and the Bertarelli family.
The former Serono headquarters in Geneva will become the Campus Biotech.
Campus Biotech today reached a major milestone. The sale of the former Merck Serono site, located in the centre of Geneva, Switerland, to the Consortium behind the Campus Biotech initiative has been finalized. The Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the University of Geneva, Hansjörg Wyss, the Wyss Foundation and the Bertarelli family will now move forward together to implement the vision behind Campus Biotech, bringing new life and fresh investment to the biotechnology sector in the Lake Geneva region and so generate a vast range of opportunities for both scientists and entrepreneurs.
The EPFL will receive a donation of CHF 100 Millions from the Wyss Foundation to create with UNIGE a Wyss Institute in Geneva along the same principles as those of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard in Boston.
In addition, the Bertarelli Foundation will contribute its existing EPFL chairs and increase its donation by 2 additional chairs to the Wyss Institute.
The Wyss Foundation and the Bertarelli family have financed Campus Biotech for the acquisition of the Sécheron site to allow the creation of a shared Biotech campus.
The EPFL and UNIGE will occupy 15000 m2 of the Sécheron site. Half of this surface will be occupied by the Wyss Institute for Bio- and Neuro- Engineering, the other half by research groups from EPFL and UNIGE.
For the remaining available spaces, Campus Biotech will seek to attract start-ups, industry and other businesses, which would benefit from this unique scientific and entrepreneurial environment.
The Campus Biotech Consortium would like to thank both, “Le Conseil d’Etat Genevois” and the Swiss Confederation for its support.
Speaking on behalf of the EPFL, its President Patrick Aebischer said: “This project constitutes a unique opportunity to increase research and development in the Biotechnology Sector of the Lake Geneva region and its related job creation. “
Speaking on behalf of UNIGE, its Chancellor Jean-Dominique Vassalli said: “This project creates a fantastic opportunity of a close collaboration between EPFL and UNIGE in the area of applied biomedical research.”
Speaking on behalf of the Wyss Foundation, Hansjörg Wyss said: “The Wyss Institute shall be a multidisciplinary Institute whose mission will be to develop biologically inspired solutions that will solve critical medical problems and to translate these transformative technologies into products that have an impact on society and the world.”
Speaking on behalf of Campus Biotech Sàrl, the entity formed by the Wyss Foundation and the Bertarelli family to buy the site, Ernesto Bertarelli said: “We are absolutely delighted to be moving forward with Campus Biotech. A central element of our plan is the creation of a Wyss Institute focusing on Bio- and Neuro-Engineering. We have been much encouraged by the wide support for our project which we believe will bring immense value to the Geneva Lake region and Switzerland as a whole.”