Launch of the EspeRare Foundation
Today we are proud to announce the launch of the EspeRare Foundation, a nonprofit organisation set up by three Merck Serono employees.
Geneva, Switzerland, April 15, 2013 – Merck Serono, a division of Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced the launch of the EspeRare Foundation, a nonprofit organization set up by three Merck Serono employees, in the framework of the Merck Serono Entrepreneur Partnership Program (EPP). Merck Serono will donate an initial €2.8 million funding to the EspeRare Foundation. In addition, Merck Serono will transfer the rights of rimeporide, a compound previously developed for heart failure by Merck. The Foundation will investigate this compound in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a lethal genetic rare disease affecting 1 in every 3 600 males.