Unleashing the Potential: How Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is enabling Healthcare with Digital Health
ABSTRACT
The global biotech and pharmaceutical industry eagerly awaits the transformative potential of AI and accelerated computation in drug development. While remarkable advancements have occurred in recent years, the overall drug development process, including associated costs and time requirements, has not yet undergone significant changes. However, the industry remains hopeful that upcoming developments will bring substantial improvements and redefine the drug development landscape. The combination of AI techniques and enhanced computational capabilities has greatly expedited the drug discovery process, improving our understanding of potential drug candidates and advancing scientific knowledge of specific disease states. These advancements empower researchers with powerful tools to identify promising compounds and unravel the underlying mechanisms of diseases. However, the success of a drug ultimately relies on the intricate interactions among diverse human biological processes, which impact its effectiveness. The probability of successfully treating a specific patient population becomes the decisive factor for therapy efficacy. Given the complexity of human metabolism, accurately predicting success in human trials poses the ultimate challenge for AI-powered drug discovery. In this presentation, we will showcase ongoing work within our company and partnerships, highlighting the current progress and the challenges that lie ahead for the scientific community.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Laura Matz is the Chief Science and Technology Officer for Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, driving innovation and digitalization across the 3 business sectors, Life Sciences, Healthcare, and Electronics. Serving as an Executive Vice President within Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, she is responsible for the corporate innovation teams, including the digital office and new digital business models. In addition, Laura is CEO of the newly launched data sharing platform company, Athinia™, which focuses on enabling secure data sharing within the semiconductor ecosystem. She possesses 20 years of experience in semiconductor manufacturing and a decade of experience in running semiconductor materials businesses.
Prior to becoming the CTO, she was a senior vice president within EMD Electronics (previously Versum Materials and Air Products Electronics division). She has always been a key contributor to the growth in semiconductor materials, driving a strong R&D presence to enable business growth.
Laura is a strong advocate for young talent in science and engineering. As a leader, she builds teams to find innovative solutions to the problems facing humanity and implement them with the discipline and rigor to create the greatest impact. In 2023, she joined SEMI Impact for Skills as a board member, a governance program to support upskilling and reskilling, to attract new talent, and to unlock EU and national/ regional funding. In addition, she is a board member of AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers), a leading organization for chemical engineering professionals.
Laura has a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Washington State University and an undergraduate degree from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-m-matz/