00:00The growth prospects of the Italian pharmaceutical sector and the importance of investments in technological progress have been the themes at the center of the event Science and Technology to create value, hosted by the establishment of the pharmaceutical company Merck in Modugno, in the province of Bari.
00:19The company, with over €196.4 million in investments in recent years, has consolidated its presence in Puglia, attracting European and national resources and promoting the economic and social development of the territory.
00:32Puglia is a fundamental region for us, not only at the level of Italy, but at the European and global level. It is one of the sites that we call the heart of our global production network.
00:45We have invested more than €100 million in this site in the last 5-6 years. From here we export to 350 countries worldwide. As I said, this is a fundamental site for our global production network.
01:00The establishment has been identified as the ideal place to host a debate with institutions on the contribution that global companies such as Merck, and more generally the pharmaceutical sector, can offer to the territory.
01:11It is an example of how international companies come to our territory to look for brains, not just the productive side. When you create that link in that ecosystem of innovation that we have generated between the research world, the world of training, the competencies and the big companies, then it is easy to be a territory worth investing in.
01:31The pharmaceutical sector is an avant-garde sector that must be protected and encouraged. Italy emerges as a global leader with more than €50 billion in production in 2023. It is a significant growth of export between 2021 and 2023. Puglia plays a leading role thanks to the support of important companies such as Merck.
01:50What produces quality in Italy is exported all over the world. 150 countries are served from this site, so we are really happy with the capacity we have. We are not really dependent on anyone.
02:03If we focus on our young people, if we put together young people, human capital, entrepreneurial business skills, the political will of the region, of our state, to focus on a South that is not a flat South that asks for help and assistance, but a South that aims to create value, to create wealth, there is really no one for it.
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