BioLife Solutions Executes OEM Agreement with MilliporeSigma Private Labeled CryoStor® Cell Freeze Media and HypoThermosol® Cell and Tissue Storage and Shipping Media Distributed to Worldwide Biotech Research MarketOn February 13, 2018 BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLFS), the leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of proprietary clinical grade biopreservation media (“BioLife” or the “Company”), announced that it has executed an OEM agreement to supply its CryoStor cell freeze media and HypoThermosol cell storage and shipping media under private label to MilliporeSigma, the life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.Mike Rice, BioLife President & CEO, commented, “We are very pleased to formalize our long-term relationship with MilliporeSigma. Since 2009, the MilliporeSigma marketing and sales organizations have demonstrated a strong ability to drive adoption of our proprietary biopreservation media products in the biotech research market. In 2017 alone, MilliporeSigma distributed our products to over 600 different customers. We look forward to continuing to support MilliporeSigma in our shared mission to drive a paradigm shift away from using home-brew biopreservation media to our engineered, pre-formulated GMP manufactured products.”About MilliporeSigmaThe 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.For Additional Information, please see our Press Release.
