MilliporeSigma Invests $20M In New Switzerland Laboratory

• Allows expansion of analytical research and development efforts
• Supports growing reference materials business
• Approximately two dozen new jobs to be created

MilliporeSigma has announced plans to build a new, $20M laboratory facility in Buchs, Switzerland to support its rapidly growing reference materials business. MilliporeSigma anticipates that about two dozen jobs will be created.

"Researchers in testing labs around the world use MilliporeSigma’s reference materials every day to help generate accurate, reliable analytical results in pharmaceutical, environmental and food and beverage analysis,” said Jean-Charles Wirth, head of Applied Solutions at MilliporeSigma. “This new laboratory will allow us to continue to drive innovation in diagnostics and testing and expand our research and development of analytical standards.”

Completion of the three-story, 12,000-square-foot Buchs building is scheduled for December 2021 and the move is planned for early 2022. The modern, flexible workplace design, to include laboratory and office space, is aimed at fostering a collaborative environment for its 40 employees, some of whom will move from the existing, heavily utilized building. The new facility will offer a more efficient way of working for current and future employees in research and development, analytical production and quality control. The laboratory area can be adapted to new requirements in the future, including increased site capacity.

About MilliporeSigma
Founded in 1950, the Buchs location is one of MilliporeSigma’s most important research and development centers. Today, around 450 people are employed at the site. Here, certified reference materials, analytical standards and reagents, building blocks and bioanalytical reagents are produced for the company’s global academia, industrial research and quality control laboratory customers. The site also develops and manufactures raw materials for pharmaceutical manufacturing under Good Manufacturing Practices, as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients. The location serves as a main down-filling hub for MilliporeSigma.

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 completed its $17B acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich in November 2015, creating a leader in the $125B global life science industry.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 57,000 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 2019, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany generated sales of €16.2B 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 Performance Materials. Since its founding 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, visit www.emdgroup.com.