MilliporeSigma's CRISPR Epigenetic Activator Named to The Scientist's Top 10 Innovation List

- Award recognizes potential impact on human health

- Robust tool enables life science community to explore advanced regulatory aspects of gene expression

- Customizable for both targeted epigenetic manipulation and transcriptional regulation

News provided by

Mar 29, 2016, 08:00 ET

ST. LOUIS, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the United States and, today announced that The Scientist magazine has named the company's CRISPR Epigenetic Activator one of its Top 10 Innovations of 2015.

The CRISPR Epigenetic Activator is a key product of the life science business after the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich Corp. last year.

MilliporeSigma's technology allows researchers to target specific DNA regions or gene sequences, enabling them to localize epigenetic changes to their target of interest and see the effects of those changes in gene expression.

"The life science research community lacked an effective method for the activation of endogenous gene expression," said Udit Batra, CEO of MilliporeSigma. "We are excited to bring the research community a highly specific, robust tool for both targeted epigenetic manipulation and transcriptional regulation."

The annual Top 10 Innovations competition recognizes "the newest life science products making waves in labs and clinics," according to an article in the December 2015 issue of The Scientist, which ranks the CRISPR Epigenetic Activator number six in a list of 10 innovations that could have a major impact on science and medicine.

The award recognizes the potential impact of the activator on human health by enabling new platforms for drug screening, gene therapy and disease monitoring.

The system will enable the life science community to explore advanced regulatory aspects of gene expression by allowing the epigenetic modification of genetic loci at both close and distal locations to a gene of interest.

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 19,000 employees and 72 manufacturing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products enabling scientific discovery.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany completed its $17 billion acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich in November 2015, creating a leader in the $130 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 six businesses – Biopharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Life Science and Performance Materials – and generated sales of € 12.85 billion in 2015. 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. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials in the U.S. and Canada.

All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany news releases are distributed by email at the same time they become available on the EMD Group website. In case you are a resident of the USA or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160325/348068

SOURCE MilliporeSigma