“Italy is becoming an increasingly strategic reality for the Merck pharmaceutical group. We have all understood, from the war in Ukraine and considering China’s position, that it is necessary to strengthen in Europe: for this reason our commitment in Europe and in Italy it is becoming even stronger than in the past “. This was underlined by Ian Kirsten, president and CEO of Merck Italia, in a meeting with journalists during the Ectrims 2022 congress in Amsterdam. “We are investing heavily in research in Italy, we have numerous preclinical and clinical studies underway”, continues Kirsten. In our country there is “the largest number of centers involved in the experimentation of the new drug against multiple sclerosis evobrutinib: there are 23 centers, with 41 patients. Italy for us is an important country for production and research, also because researchers they are highly qualified, prepared and creative. It is therefore a strategic country for Merck, one of the countries in which our group is most present – remarks Kirsten – with centers in Ivrea, Milan, Bari and Guidonia. We are further strengthening and expanding these sites “. Italy played an important role in the experimentation of evobrutinib, “an actually new drug – explains Kirsten – with unprecedented mechanisms of action for multiple sclerosis. It is the first drug that manages to reach the brain, where it develops. inflammation at the base of the disease. This drug reduces it, so the level of disability is also kept stable. The data from the phase 3 studies will be available early next year. “