MilliporeSigma Brings Customers Closer to Gene Therapy Product Commercialization

- Company's Carlsbad manufacturing facility passes FDA and EMA inspections

- Underscores capabilities as commercial manufacturer of viral and gene therapy products

- Highlights position as leading contract manufacturing organization (CMO) for production of next-generation gene therapies

BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MilliporeSigma today announced that its Carlsbad, California-based manufacturing facility for the production of BioReliance^® viral and gene therapy products has completed both a U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Pre-License inspection and a European Medicines Agency (EMA) Marketing Authorization Application inspection.

"The successful FDA and EMA inspections of our Carlsbad manufacturing facility mark an important milestone for MilliporeSigma and our customers who are manufacturing exciting new treatments for cancer and many other diseases," said Udit Batra, CEO, MilliporeSigma. "As one of the first CMOs in the industry to complete pre-licensure inspections for this class of therapies, this achievement underscores our commitment to bring our customers one step closer to commercialization of novel therapies."

These inspections will enable one of MilliporeSigma's key customers to launch its novel gene therapy in both the U.S. and in Europe, which is currently under review by both the FDA and EMA. The inspections were significant milestones in the approval process to obtain the licenses necessary to manufacture the gene therapy as a commercial product.

This key benchmark underscores MilliporeSigma's continued investment in viral and gene therapies from clinical to commercial scale. MilliporeSigma has close to three decades of experience in gene therapy, and its Carlsbad site has been involved in the gene therapy area since 1997, near the time clinical trials for gene therapy began.

The Carlsbad facility provides contract development and manufacturing services that can contribute to a more efficient delivery of these lifesaving therapies to market. The business serves many leading developers of viral and gene therapy products globally.

The company's Carlsbad facility underwent a major expansion in 2016, and is now nearly double its former production capacity. The upgraded facility grew from 44,000 square feet to 65,000 square feet and now includes 16 modular viral bulk manufacturing cleanroom suites with single-use equipment and two fill/finish suites for gene therapy, viral vaccine and immunotherapy products.

MilliporeSigma also offers viral and gene therapy manufacturing capacity in Glasgow, Scotland, has cell-banking services in Rockville, Maryland, and offers BioReliance^® biosafety testing globally for both clinical and commercial stage gene therapy products.

Gene therapy involves the delivery of genetic material into patient cells to produce a therapeutic effect such as correction of a mutated gene or retargeting of an immune cell to fight cancer. Diseases such as hemophilia and cancer are being investigated using this technique where a single dose may cure the disease.

MilliporeSigma recognizes the potential benefits of conducting properly defined research with genome editing because of the breakthrough therapeutic potential. Therefore, research with genome editing is allowed with careful consideration of ethical and legal standards. MilliporeSigma's parent company has established a Bioethics Advisory Panel to provide guidance for research in which its businesses are involved, including research on or using genome editing.

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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 20,000 employees and 60 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, Darmstadt, Germany is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company has five businesses - Biopharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Life Science and Performance Materials - and generated sales of €15 billion in 2016. 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. The company 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.

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SOURCE MilliporeSigma