SAFC Launches CHOZN ZFN-modified CHO Cell Lines to Enhance Speed of Bioproduction

ST. LOUIS, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SAFC®, a member of the Sigma-Aldrich® Group (NASDAQ: SIAL), today announced the launch of the first offering in a product line of Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN)-modified Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell lines. Designed for use in the production of biopharmaceuticals, the CHOZN® cell lines are expected to enable customers to reach the market faster and more cost-effectively by reducing timelines commonly associated with early stage biological drug development. The distinctive features of the cell lines should appeal to organizations looking to build a robust and comprehensive therapeutic protein and monoclonal antibody manufacturing platform. Visit www.safcglobal/chozn for additional information on the CHOZN cell lines.

SAFC, a leading provider of custom raw materials and process development services for the biopharmaceutical industry, leveraged its expertise and experience with biopharmaceutical production workflows to engineer the CHOZN series of cell lines to be therapeutic protein manufacturing hosts.  

"The CHOZN cell lines have complete traceability and are expected to enable our customers to bring their therapeutic candidates to market more quickly," said Bruce Lehr, SAFC Director of Cell Sciences and Development. "The cell line is robust, and has regulatory-friendly features that we believe will save them time and money."

As part of the first offering of its dynamic cell line series, SAFC is releasing the CHOZN DHFR-/- CHO line for use in the production and manufacture of biological drugs. The DHFR-/- CHO line was developed through CompoZr® ZFN mediated gene editing of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) locus in a robust, extensively characterized and fully documented CHO-K1 host.  The new CHOZN® DHFR-/- CHO line allows process development scientists to use any common DHFR expression system for the selection and amplification in a fully traceable CHO-K1 background.  

"One of the core areas of focus for SAFC is investing in the development of expertise across emerging technologies that both differentiate us in the marketplace and deliver tangible benefits that support customers in the development of next-generation therapeutics," said Lehr.

For more information on SAFC's CompoZr ZFN offer, visit: www.safcglobal.com/zfnkits

For more information on SAFC's Cell Design Studio (CDS) offer, visit: www.safcglobal.com/cces

The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "expected', "should", "believe" or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding potential future revenues from products derived there from. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. There can be no guarantee that the products described in this release will continue to meet the demands of the marketplace. Nor can there be any guarantee that any of these products will achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. In particular, management's expectations regarding these products could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the Company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Company's assets and liabilities as recorded in its consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Sigma-Aldrich's current Form 10-K on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Sigma-Aldrich is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About SAFC®: SAFC is the custom manufacturing and services business unit of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation. We are recognized as a top 10 global fine chemical supplier and trusted manufacturer of specialty chemicals and biologics for the life science and high technology industries. Utilizing global "Centers of Excellence" and dedicated manufacturing facilities, SAFC can often resolve development and manufacturing challenges and accelerate the production of custom materials. Our rich portfolio includes high-purity inorganic materials for high technology applications, cell culture products, services for biopharmaceutical manufacturing and biochemical production, and complex, multi-step organic synthesis of APIs and key intermediates. For more information about SAFC, visit www.safcglobal.com.

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology manufacturing. The Company has customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 40 countries and has 8,000 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Innovation and Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning web site at www.sigma-aldrich.com.

SAFC and Sigma-Aldrich are registered trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC.

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