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MilliporeSigma opens new €290 million biosafety testing facility in Rockville

Woman dressed in personal protective gear seated at a lab bench with a pipette
Image credit: MilliporeSigma

The new €290 million ($317 million) 23,000 SF facility streamlines MilliporeSigma's operations and is expected to bring new jobs to Rockville

Burlington, MA, Oct. 9, 2024 – MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has opened its new €290 million biosafety testing facility in Rockville, Maryland, USA. Biosafety testing and analytical development are fundamental components of drug development and commercialization for traditional and novel modalities. Global demand for these services is growing at a double-digit rate1.

“This expansion is the largest investment in contract testing in the company’s history and will allow us to drive automation and technology development in one integrated hub,” said Benjamin Hein, Head of Life Science Services, Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. “It reflects our commitment to providing our clients with disruptive platforms that shorten biosafety testing timelines, meet the growing global demand, and ensure the safety of the world’s medicines for patients.”

The 23,000-square-meter facility will house biosafety testing, analytical development, and cell banking manufacturing services. It consolidates labs currently spread across four buildings into a single facility. This will increase collaboration between scientists and enable a higher level of automation and digitalization to increase Right First Time (RFT).

The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has made significant investments over the last five years to expand its biosafety testing capabilities for clients across the globe. The company’s global biosafety testing network includes sites in Shanghai, China; Singapore; Stirling and Glasgow, UK; and Rockville, MD, USA.

The new site will feature advanced testing capabilities, including a rapid methods package, designed to accelerate virus testing of bulk harvest material.  This package is the first to include the Blazar® CHO Animal Origin Free (AOF) panel, a targeted molecular method for detecting virus families. By combining the Blazar® CHO AOF panel with assays for mycoplasma, sterility, and retrovirus-like particle detection, test results can be obtained in just 14 days, compared to 35 days with traditional assay methods.

The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, offers a broad multi-modality testing portfolio, which features disruptive platforms that reduce biosafety testing timelines and deliver the highest quality standards. The portfolio includes a rapid methods package with the Blazar® CHO AOF panel, and the recently launched Aptegra™ platform, the first all-in-one, validated genetic stability assay of its kind. These innovations will enable the company to continue delivering high-quality testing services and regulatory expertise to bring life-changing medicines to patients more quickly and safely.

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 more than 27,000 employees and more than 55 total manufacturing and testing 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 63,000 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 providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2023, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of € 21 billion in 65 countries. Learn more at https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/US/en

1 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/biological-safety-testing-market

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Link to press release:  https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/US/en/collections/press/new-biosafety-facility-rockville-md


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