TransCelerate BioPharma Welcomes Merck & Co. and Novo Nordisk to its Membership Roster

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TransCelerate BioPharma Inc. today announced two new members, Merck & Co. Inc., and Novo Nordisk, to the biopharmaceutical non-profit organization. In addition, TransCelerate has appointed Briggs Morrison, MD, Executive Vice President, Global Medicines Development at AstraZeneca, to the position of Chair of the Board of Directors.

TransCelerate CEO, Dalvir Gill, states, “The additions of Merck & Co. and Novo Nordisk further extend the reach of our workstream solutions that each aim to drive the efficient, effective and high-quality delivery of new medicines.” TransCelerate is comprised of influential biopharmaceutical companies that are collaborating to help accelerate and enhance the research and development of innovative drugs across therapeutic areas.

In addition, TransCelerate’s new Chair of the Board, Briggs Morrison, said, “I am very pleased to serve as the Chair of TransCelerate's Board of Directors and look forward to continuing to advance our mission of identifying and solving common drug development challenges. The year ahead will bring forth even more resources that will further facilitate the delivery of new therapies to the public faster.”

Gill went on to note, “We are honored to have our new Chair of the Board join us. His experience, depth of knowledge in this field and clinical insight will further guide the development of our workstream solutions and efforts to address the inefficiencies in the drug development process." For more information on the new Chair and other board members, please visit the website: http://www.transceleratebiopharmainc.com/our-leadership/.

About TransCelerate BioPharma Inc.
TransCelerate BioPharma Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health of people around the world by accelerating and enhancing the research and development (R&D) of innovative new therapies. The organizations' mission is to collaborate across the global biopharmaceutical R&D community to identify, prioritize, design and facilitate implementation of solutions designed to drive the efficient, effective and high quality delivery of new medicines. TransCelerate evolved from discussions at various forums for executive R&D leadership to debate current issues facing the industry, and examine solutions for addressing agreed-upon common challenges. The founding member companies are AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, the Roche Group, and Sanofi. Additional members that have joined since the inception of TransCelerate include Actavis, Allergan, Inc., Astellas Pharma Inc., Biogen Idec, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, EMD Serono, Inc. (a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany), Medgenics, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Novo Nordisk A/S, Shionogi & Co., Ltd. and UCB.

Membership in TransCelerate is open to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with Research & Development operations. Executive offices are located in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, please visit http://www.transceleratebiopharmainc.com.