Sartorius and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Sign Supply Agreement on TC Tech Products

  
    
  
  
    
      The German-based technology group Sartorius (FWB:SRT) signed a new 
      supply agreement with the U.S. company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 
      This agreement governs the non-exclusive reciprocal supply of products 
      for biopharmaceutical process applications between Sartorius and an 
      affiliate of Thermo Fischer Scientific, TC Tech Corp. Specifically, the 
      agreement stipulates that TC Tech will supply Sartorius with disposable 
      process containers up to the end of 2007 and with disposable process 
      containers assembled with Sartorius filter capsules up to 2012. In turn, 
      Sartorius will supply TC Tech with filter units for a further five years.
    
    
      For several years, Sartorius and TC Tech have already been business 
      partners in the area of disposables for biopharmaceutical applications. 
      On the part of both companies, however, merger and acquisition 
      activities have yielded changes in the ownership structure and/or in the 
      product array, respectively, which required a new contractual 
      arrangement: While TC Tech was acquired last year by Fisher Scientific, 
      Sartorius is currently taking over the controlling stake in Stedim 
      Biosystems S.A., the market leader in the field of disposable containers.
    
    
      “The main target of this agreement is to 
      optimally satisfy customer needs and to enable a continued product 
      supply for their validated process applications,“ 
      said Reinhard Vogt, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing of the 
      Biotechnology Division at Sartorius, in commenting on this agreement.
    
    
      This press release contains statements about the future development of 
      the Sartorius Group. We cannot guarantee that the content of these 
      statements will actually apply because these statements are based upon 
      assumptions and estimates that harbor certain risks and uncertainties.
    
    
      This announcement is made for information purposes, only. It does not 
      constitute an offer to purchase nor an invitation to make an offer to 
      sell shares in Stedim Biosystems S.A. The tender offer to acquire the 
      shares in Stedim described in this announcement has not started yet. An 
      offer to buy or an invitation to make an offer to sell will exclusively 
      be based on a draft tender offer and the related documentation to be 
      filed with the Autorité des Marchés 
      Financiers (AMF).
    
    
      A profile of Sartorius
    
    
      The Sartorius Group is an internationally leading laboratory and process 
      technology provider covering the segments of biotechnology and 
      mechatronics. In 2006 the technology group earned sales revenue of 521.1 
      million euros. The Goettingen-based company founded in 1870 currently 
      employs approximately 3,900 persons. Its biotechnology segment focuses 
      on filtration and separation products as well as fermenters and 
      bioreactors. For the mechatronics segment in particular, the company 
      manufactures equipment and systems featuring weighing, measurement and 
      automation technology for laboratory and industrial applications, as 
      well as hydrodynamic bearings. Key Sartorius customers are from the 
      pharmaceutical, chemical and food and beverage industries and from 
      numerous research and educational institutes of the public sector. 
      Sartorius has its own production facilities in Europe, Asia and America 
      as well as sales subsidiaries and local commercial agencies in more than 
      110 countries.