Beckman Coulter Selects SAFC Supply Solutions as Licensing Partner
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Agreement Enables SAFC to Deliver Key Chemistries for DNA and RNA Synthesis
ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 21 / -- SAFC, a member of the Sigma-Aldrich Group (NASDAQ:SIAL), announced today that its Supply Solutions business segment has received a license for Beckman Coulter's (NYSE:BEC) fast deprotection chemistry. The agreement covers Beckman Coulter's acetyl-protected cytidine DNA- and 2'-O-methyl phosphoramidites for the synthesis of oligonucleotides. These chemistries collapse cleavage and deprotection timelines to mere minutes, while completely maintaining the integrity of synthesized DNA and RNA.
SAFC is the first company licensed to the full range of these phosphoramidites, which will be produced at their Proligo® Reagents ISO 9001-certified manufacturing facility in Hamburg, Germany. The licensing agreement expands SAFC's oligo synthesis reagents offer in the sector. The agreement coincides with the U.S. TIDES® 2007 conference being held in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 20 - 23, 2007.
Dr. Andreas Wolter, SAFC's Proligo Reagents Managing Director, said, "Oligo therapeutics are now the focus of over 120 preclinical studies or clinical trials and the industry has seen investments of over $3.5 billion in the past four years. Our licensing agreement with Beckman Coulter provides customers with access to these key components in oligonucleotides synthesis. Use of fast deprotection technology, supported by proven high-quality and consistency of SAFC Proligo Reagents will benefit scientists across research, pharmaceutical and diagnostic applications. Given the growing momentum in oligo therapeutics, we are delighted to have this opportunity to team with Beckman Coulter."
"We are pleased to grant this technology license to SAFC," said Chris Neary, Vice President of Beckman Coulter's Discovery Products Business Center. "We are confident that SAFC will produce and deliver high-quality products to customers working in the field of genetics."
SAFC Supply Solutions is a major global provider of raw materials and customized services for the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, IVD diagnostics and Flavors & Fragrances markets and offers a total supply chain that embraces over 85,000 products -- 45,000 of which are manufactured in-house. The business is supported by manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland and the U.K.
About SAFC: SAFC is the custom manufacturing and services group within Sigma-Aldrich that focuses on high-purity inorganics for high technology applications, cell culture products and services for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, biochemical production and the manufacturing of complex, multi-step organic synthesis of APIs and key intermediates. SAFC has manufacturing facilities around the world dedicated to providing manufacturing services for companies requiring a reliable partner to produce their custom manufactured materials. SAFC has four operating segments -- SAFC Pharma, SAFC Supply Solutions, SAFC Biosciences, and SAFC Hitech -- and had annual sales of nearly $500 million in 2006. SAFC is one of the world's 10 largest fine chemical businesses.
About Sigma-Aldrich:
Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology manufacturing. The Company has customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 36 countries and has 7,600 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to accelerating Customers' success through leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning Web site at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com/.
About Beckman Coulter:
Beckman Coulter, Inc., based in Fullerton, California, develops, manufactures and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical tests. More than 200,000 Beckman Coulter systems operate in laboratories around the world supplying critical information for improving patient health and reducing the cost of care. Recurring revenue, consisting of supplies, test kits, service and operating-type lease payments, represents more than 75 percent of the company's 2006 annual revenue of $2.53 billion. For more information, visit http://www.beckmancoulter.com/.
FCMN Contact: sean.battles@sial.com
Source: SAFC
CONTACT: http://www.beckmancoulter.com/
