MilliporeSigma Invests $25 Million to Expand Cell Culture Media Production in Kansas

• Lenexa, Kansas facility becomes company's largest dry powder cell culture media facility and Center of Excellence in North America
• Boosts capabilities with additional 98,000 sq ft of manufacturing and redesigned lab space
• Investment to bring 60 jobs to Kansas City area

BURLINGTON, Mass., July 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt Germany, today announced the expansion of its facility in Lenexa, Kansas, adding 98,000 square feet of lab space and production capability to manufacture cell culture media.

"The Lenexa expansion reflects our commitment to meeting the dynamic needs of our customers worldwide and delivering on our growth plans," said Darren Verlenden, Head of Process Solutions, Life Science. "This expansion makes Lenexa the company's largest dry powder cell culture media facility and Center of Excellence in North America. Investing in the region reflects our strategy to expand and diversify our supply chain to ensure we meet current and future demand for cell culture media."

Cell culture media is an essential raw material used in the manufacture of life-saving therapies and in processes as varied as vaccine manufacturing, gene therapy, and monoclonal antibody manufacturing. Because of its central role in biomanufacturing, a consistent supply of high-quality media is required to deliver the necessary concentration and protein quality for therapeutics.

"Governor Kelly's administration knows that supporting private sector efforts to strengthen supply chains benefits Kansas workers," said David Toland, Kansas Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce.

"These new opportunities at MilliporeSigma will allow even more families throughout the region to prosper." 

The company's strategic investments to expand capacity with the new dry powder media manufacturing lines in existing production facilities in the Lenexa, Kansas, and Nantong, China, sites will increase both local and global production capacity to meet current demand and ensure supply for future demand surges, ensuring for future supply robustness.

"As our customers' needs and technologies evolve, so must we. The new production line represents the company's vision for our Lenexa site, as it was initially constructed for three manufacturing lines for dry powder cell culture media," says Darren. "The new production line is the culmination of multiple years of planning, and now we are able to offer greater flexibility and faster cell culture media manufacturing for our customers."

The company has a total of three Centers of Excellence for dry powder cell culture media manufacturing: in addition to the site in Lenexa, Kansas, serving the Americas region, and Nantong, China, for the Asia Pacific region, the third site is located in Irvine, Scotland, serving Europe, the Middle East and Africa region.

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.

More than 64,000 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 2022, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of € 22.2 billion 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 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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SOURCE MilliporeSigma