Following the presentation of the Prix Merieux by the Academie de France to Professor Francine NTOUMI and her team in 2016, as well as, the wish of the Congolese Foundation for Medical Research (FCRM) to christen its Research Center on Infectious Diseases (CeRMI) on behalf of the late Christophe MERIEUX (important member of the Merieux group particularly committed to the fight against infectious diseases linked to poverty), the FCRM received from May 27 to 29, in Brazzaville, Mr. Alain MERIEUX, President and CEO Groupe Merieux and father of the late Christophe MERIEUX. The main objectives of the visit were to officially christen the research center and to lay the foundations for a close collaboration between the Groupe Merieux and the FCRM.

During this visit, Mr Alain MERIEUX with Prof Francine NTOUMI met the Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo, and the Minister of Scientific Research and Technological Innovation and the WHO representative in Congo. The meetings led to the signing of a memorandum between the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation of the Republic of Congo and the Merieux Group