Merck, a leading science and technology company has won two R&D 100 Awards. The 56^th annual R&D 100 Awards program, honoring the 100 most innovative and significant technologies introduced in the past year, recognized Merck for its BioReliance^® Viral and Gene Therapy Assay Portfolio and proxy-CRISPR technology. Merck has received nine R&D 100 Awards in the past six years.

"We are honored to receive two R&D 100 Awards, one recognizing our continuous focus on making gene therapy more widely accessible to patients in need by developing and implementing our BioReliance^®Viral and Gene Therapy assays rapidly," said Udit Batra, member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO, Life Science.

He stated further, “The second award highlights Merck as a market leader in gene editing — the result of our longstanding R&D focus on CRISPR technology. I am immensely proud of our teams, who, every day, live our purpose to solve the toughest problems in life science."

Merck's BioReliance^® Viral and Gene Therapy Assay Portfolio won a R&D 100 Award in the Analytical/Test category. The BioReliance^® Viral and Gene Therapy Assay Portfolio is a platform of assays that allows the timely release of viral and gene therapy vectors, cutting testing time nearly in half, while providing accurate and reliable results.

Merck developed the assays specifically for viral gene therapy product characterization, purity, potency, safety and release testing.

Merck's proxy-CRISPR technology won a Special Recognition Market Disruptor --Products award. Market disruptor awards are given to those that have the potential to be "game changers," disrupting established technologies and transforming their respective industry.

Proxy-CRISPR is a new genome-editing tool for improving the performance of other newly discovered CRISPR proteins. This technology makes CRISPR more efficient, flexible and specific by opening up the DNA helix so researchers can make targeted sequence changes in previously inaccessible regions of the genome. Merck's proxy-CRISPR provides a rapid and simple method to increase usability without the laborious need to re-engineer native CRISPR proteins.

The R&D 100 Awards are among the most prestigious innovation awards, honoring research and development pioneers.