Belen Garijo, president and CEO of German pharmaceutical company Merck Serono SA, has pledged to build the company’s Chinese division into a world leader in oncology treatment, during an interview after a panel discussion at the APEC CEO summit. “We will bring the research to China, develop the compounds, and become a leader in oncology here in the next five to 10 years,” she said. “We have a clear vision in China – by 2020, we will achieve USD1 billion in sales and during this process we will keep bringing new medicines to the country.” Established in Darmstadt, Germany in 1668, Merck operates in 66 countries with 38,000 employees. Merck Serono is its bio-pharmaceutical division and specializes in treating prevalent chronic conditions such as cancer and metabolic diseases.