Allan Gabor, Managing Director of Merck Serono, delivers a speech the groundbreaking ceremony of Merck China Nantong Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facility in Nantong city, east Chinas Jiangsu province, 27 August 2014. Germany-based Merck, a leading company in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, will spend 650 million yuan (US$104.84 million) in Nantong city, east China¯s Jiangsu Province, to build a new pharmaceutical plant. The plant will start operating in 2017 and produce only three medicines - all of them included on the basic medicine list covered by China's medical insurance. The three medicines treat hypertension, diabetes and thyroid disorder. Merck is the first multinational company to invest heavily in a new plant specifically to produce medicines covered by China's medical insurance.
