Company Announcements

• Mirus Bio’s transfection reagents strengthen MilliporeSigma’s upstream portfolio
• Acquisition will advance company’s ambition to provide a fully integrated and comprehensive solution for viral vector manufacturing
• Reinforces MilliporeSigma’s continued commitment to shaping the future of gene therapies and other novel modalities

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2024-- MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Mirus Bio for US$ 600 million. Mirus Bio, part of Gamma Biosciences, is a life science company based in Madison, Wisconsin, USA that specializes in the development and commercialization of transfection reagents, such as TransIT-VirusGEN^®. Transfection reagents play a critical role in the production of viral vector-based gene therapies.

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MilliporeSigma operators monitoring viral vector production in a bioreactor in MilliporeSigma'sCarlsbad, California manufacturing facility (Photo: Business Wire)

“Viral vector-based cell and gene therapies have demonstrated their potential with more than 20 approvals over the last 10 years¹ and will continue to advance, with a projected growth of 30 percent until 2028²,” said Matthias Heinzel, Member of the Executive Board and CEO Life Science, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. “This acquisition, combined with our comprehensive portfolio, enables us to provide a truly differentiated and integrated offering to meet the growing demand for these life-saving therapies.”

“We have been driving innovation in nucleic acid delivery for two decades,” said Dale Gordon, CEO of Mirus Bio. “MilliporeSigma’s broad portfolio, scale, and global reach, combined with our leading transfection reagents, will help take our business to even greater heights and allow us to serve more customers, and ultimately patients, worldwide.”

MilliporeSigma’s Process Solutions business offers one of the broadest product portfolios in the industry and provides flexible solutions for viral vector manufacturing to advance cell and gene therapies from preclinical through commercial production. This comprehensive portfolio includes cell lines, cell culture media, processing chemicals and buffers, enzymes, as well as systems, filters, hardware and consumables to support every step of the viral vector manufacturing processes. Its expertise and portfolio covers a variety of viral vector types, including adeno-associated virus, lentivirus, and adenovirus. Additionally, MilliporeSigma’s Life Science Services business offers both contract testing services and a suite of comprehensive CDMO services for viral vector manufacturing, leveraging three decades of experience supporting cell and gene therapies to de-risk the path to commercialization.

This deal is anticipated to close in Q3 of 2024 and is subject to regulatory clearance and other customary closing conditions.

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 28,000 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.

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 MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare and EMD Electronics in electronics. Since its founding in 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 about Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, visit www.emdgroup.com.

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¹ https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/cellular-gene-therapy-products/approved-cellular-and-gene-therapy-products
² EvaluatePharma 2023

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Rachel Bloom Baglin
rachel.bloom-baglin@milliporesigma.com
978-436-1725

Source: MilliporeSigma