DARMSTADT (dpa-AFX) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to lay the foundation stone for a new research center at Darmstadt-based DAX-listed company Merck on Thursday and then speak at the "Family Business Days 2024" in Wiesbaden.

Scholz (SPD) is due to give a speech at the event with Merck CEO Belén Garijo from 11.15 am. They will then lay the foundation stone for the research center, in which the pharmaceutical and chemical company is investing more than 300 million euros. Among other things, it will conduct research into applications for mRNA drugs and biotechnological production for Merck's laboratory division. Drugs based on the messenger molecule mRNA are considered a beacon of hope in medicine. They became known to a wider audience in the form of specialized vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic. Afterwards, Garijo and the Chancellor will visit a Merck product exhibition in the laboratory area.

In the afternoon, Scholz is then expected at the Family Business Days of the association of the same name in Wiesbaden, where he is due to speak at 2 p.m. in the Kurhaus. The association is celebrating its 75th anniversary./als/DP/ngu