By Anthony Shevlin 
 

Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) said Wednesday that it is investing an additional 40 million euros ($49.43 million) to build a manufacturing and distribution platform in Asia over a span of two years.

Merck said the investment includes new manufacturing and distribution centers in Songdo, South Korea and Mumbai, India. The South Korean center is expected to be fully operational in the fourth quarter, said Merck.

The company said the investment in its Wuxi, China center, to help accelerate Merck's Mobius single-use manufacturing, addresses the growing pharmaceutical demand in the country. It said the site will be ready in 2018 and is expected to reduce lead time by at least half, according to the company.

The German company said the investment follows the announcement of its EUR80 million Life Science investment in Nantong, China in 2016.

Write to Anthony Shevlin at anthony.shevlin@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2018 08:39 ET (13:39 GMT)