Accelerator to Nurture Notebook Developer

Berlin start-up and electronic notebook developer labfolder is to benefit from support, coaching and consulting after being chosen, along with six other companies out of 475 applicants, for the Merck Group's global Accelerator programme. Simon Bungers, co-founder and CEO of labfolder, said: "We are thrilled to be included in the program. It not only opens doors for us to the research-based pharmaceuticals industry, but also to the world of laboratory materials manufacturers. This combination within the Merck Group is ideal for labfolder."

He continued, "At Merck, they know how to work in the laboratory, but they also know how to design and sell products for laboratories and what those labs need. We are also open to partnerships with laboratory equipment suppliers - such as with our SmartLAB application - and Merck is a great partner for us. They can help us to make our product more attractive from a laboratory supplier's point of view, and at the same time, they can test our product directly in Merck's labs from a laboratory user's perspective."

Munya Chivasa, head of the Merck Accelerator program added: "The labfolder team, much like Merck, is focused on developing solutions and products to help researchers succeed. We are excited to work with them through the Accelerator program to explore further developments."

During September to November, labfolder will be sending two to three of its 20 employees at a time from Berlin to spend a certain number of days over the next three months in Darmstadt, where part of the Merck Accelerator is located in the group's innovation centre, which was opened in 2015. The other part of the Accelerator is located in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.