MilliporeSigma Wins R&D 100 Award for Top Invention

• Sanger Arrayed Lentiviral CRISPR Libraries wins in Analytical/Test category

Billerica, Massachusetts, November 11, 2016 — MilliporeSigma has received a prestigious R&D 100 Award for its Sanger Arrayed Lentiviral CRISPR Libraries—the first of its kind CRISPR libraries. R&D Magazine announced the awards at its 54th Annual R&D 100 Awards Dinner on Nov. 3 in Washington, D.C.

“Advancements in gene editing with tools like CRISPR are helping our customers discover and manufacture new treatments for the most difficult conditions,” said Udit Batra, CEO, MilliporeSigma. “We will continue to collaborate with the global scientific community to deliver the promise of their innovations faster and work to accelerate access to health for people everywhere.”

Recognition of these world-class products showcases the company’s commitment to empowering scientists and researchers with the solutions they need to develop new tools that can improve human health. The awards, known as the “Oscars of Invention,” honor the year’s 100 most innovative scientific and technological breakthroughs.

MillliporeSigma’s Sanger Arrayed Lentiviral CRISPR Libraries won in the Analytical/Test category. These libraries are the first human and mouse arrayed lentiviral CRISPR libraries for knocking out and screening gene function. The library allows discovery of genes involved in drug resistance, human disease and a wide variety of biological processes. Researchers can use the entire library to screen the entire genome or they can select specific genes and pathways to screen using the associated clones.

This is MilliporeSigma’s fifth year in a row receiving an R&D 100 Award. In 2015, the AFS water purification systems and Simplicon RNA Reprogramming Technology, were named in the process/prototyping and analytical/test categories, respectively. The R&D 100 Awards span industry, academia and government-sponsored research.

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 19,000 employees and 65 manufacturing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products enabling scientific discovery. Udit Batra is the global chief executive officer of MilliporeSigma.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany completed its $17 billion acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich in November 2015, creating a leader in the $125 billion global life science industry.

Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company has six businesses – Biopharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Life Science and Performance Materials – and generated sales of €12.85 billion in 2015. Around 50,000 employees work in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for patients, to foster the success of customers and to help meet global challenges.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is the world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company – since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70 percent interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the name and the trademark “Merck” internationally except for the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.