Merck Signs Distribution Agreement with Avanti® Polar Lipids

• Merck to distribute top lipid portfolio outside of United States
• Improves customer access through e-commerce platform

Darmstadt, Germany, December 11, 2017 — Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Avanti® Polar Lipids to be the exclusive multinational distributor of the USA-based company’s research lipids portfolio outside of the United States.

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will employ its sales, marketing and e-commerce expertise to distribute Avanti® Polar Lipids research lipid portfolio. The distribution agreement includes all geographies worldwide except for the United States, where Avanti® Polar Lipids will continue to reach customers via its own channels. Financial details were not disclosed.

“High-quality lipids are an essential component of precision in the laboratory,” said Klaus Bischoff, Head of the Research Solutions business area, Life Science at Merck. “Avanti® Polar Lipids’ research lipids strengthen Merck’s overall Life Science portfolio, giving our customers access to a broad portfolio of the highest purity lipids on the market.”

Merck offers a complete portfolio of products and solutions that enable scientific discovery, including life science reagents and kits, lab and specialty chemicals and lab separation and workflow tools.

Avanti® Polar Lipids is a leading manufacturer and supplier of the highest purity lipids for research and pharmaceutical product development. Through this agreement, customers outside of the United States will have enhanced, on-demand access to the Avanti® research lipid portfolio through the life science business of Merck’s robust e-commerce platform, SigmaAldrich.com, regional inventory and company sales representatives. Products will be stocked globally for improved availability to customers.

Transition of approximately 2,000 products from the Avanti® research lipid portfolio to Merck is expected to be completed in early 2018. In the interim, these products will continue to be available through existing Avanti® Polar Lipids’ channels.

Avanti® lipidomics products included in this agreement provide a new approach to answer fundamental questions about lipid structure and function and meet the demands of lipid researchers. For more information, visit www.SigmaAldrich.com/Avanti.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science, and electronics. Around 58,000 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 advancing gene-editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck generated sales of € 17.5 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics.