MilliporeSigma’s CHOZN® Expression System Selected for Bi-specific Antibody Development by SystImmune

• Accelerates development timelines with faster, easier selection and scale up of clones
• Delivers higher titers of recombinant proteins

Billerica, Massachusetts, May 16, 2017 — MilliporeSigma today announced that its CHOZN® expression system will be used by SystImmune, a Seattle-based biotechnology company, for commercial development of a bi-specific antibody therapeutic.

The CHOZN® expression system is designed to deliver manufacturing-ready robust and stable producing clones with a workflow that minimizes the resources needed to complete a cell line development project. As a result, users are able to quickly evaluate more molecules in their pipeline.

“When compared with alternate expression systems, our CHOZN® system offers a turnkey solution that consistently delivers shortened development timelines,” said Udit Batra, CEO, MilliporeSigma.

MilliporeSigma’s CHOZN® expression system is based on a GS -/- Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line.

“With only two scientists in our cell science department, we were able to generate more than 10 stable cell lines using this platform in a single year,” said Camilla Wang, Scientist, SystImmune. “The CHOZN® platform outperformed other systems in many ways. It is easy to use, requires less time to generate final single cell clones, and most of all, the expression level is consistently higher compared to the other approaches.”

Along with the CHOZN® cells, MilliporeSigma provides an expression vector, extensive user protocols, a comprehensive cell line history document and paired cGMP media and feeds. Services are offered for cell line development in the CHOZN® expression system. MilliporeSigma also offers gene engineering services using its CompoZr™ zinc finger nuclease technology to engineer CHO cell lines with characteristics attractive to biopharmaceutical developers and manufacturers, including resistance to Centinel™ technology.

About the Life Science Business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada, has some 22,000 employees and 59 manufacturing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products focused on scientific discovery, biomanufacturing, and testing services.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science, and electronics. Around 58,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene-editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany generated sales of € 17.5 billion in 66 countries.

The company holds the global rights to the name and trademark “Merck” internationally. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics. Since its founding in 1668, scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to the company’s technological and scientific advances. To this day, the founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. For more information about Merck, KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, visit  www.emdgroup.com.