February 21, 2012, Darmstadt, Germany — Merck Millipore, the Life Science division of Merck KGaA* of Germany, today announced the addition of the Millistak+® µPod™ filter to their product portfolio of disposable depth filter systems. The smaller, 23 cm2 filter is designed for use as a process development screening tool for depth filter selection and optimization.
With the Millistak+® µPod™ filter, users can easily connect multiple devices in parallel or series to rapidly screen combinations of media. The filter is available in four media categories representing 26 different media grades.
“The introduction of the Millistak+® µPod™ filter offers customers the ability to rapidly screen the full range of our Millistak+® depth filter media resulting in faster process development,” notes Inese Lowenstein, Director, Downstream Processing, Merck Millipore. “The flexible, modular format of the product line ensures that the clarification process is easily scalable from 5 to 12,000 liters or more.”
Millistak+® Pod filter systems are ideal for a wide variety of primary and secondary clarification applications, including cell cultures, yeast and E. coli lysates post centrifuge, E. coli refolds, media, vaccines, plasma proteins and sera. Millistak+® Pod filters incorporate multiple graded-density layers and adsorptive, positively charged filter media to accommodate applications from lab to pilot to process scale. The unique pod format offers greater flexibility because of its enclosed and fully disposable design.
In recognition of the latest innovative product available within the Millistak+® product portfolio, a $50,000 donation on behalf of the Merck Millipore Giving Program and the company’s Process Solutions business unit has been made to MAP International. This gift will fund critical health and education programs in regions where infant and maternal mortality rates are highest. MAP International offers a range of tailored programs based on a region’s individual needs including, safe drinking water, nutritional supplements, vaccination drives and specialized treatment campaigns. Through these programs, MAP International seeks to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates and achieve a significant improvement in health conditions for this group over three years from program commencement.
For more information on the Millistak+® µPod™ filter, please visit www.merckmillipore.com/millistak.
About Merck Millipore
Merck Millipore is the Life Science division of Merck KGaA of Germany and offers a broad range of innovative, performance products, services and business relationships that enable our customers’ success in research, development and production of biotech and pharmaceutical drug therapies. Through dedicated collaboration on new scientific and engineering insights, and as one of the top three R&D investors in the Life Science Tools industry, Merck Millipore serves as a strategic partner to customers and helps advance the promise of life science. Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, the division has around 10,000 employees, operations in 67 countries and 2010 revenues of EUR 1.7 billion. Merck Millipore operates as EMD Millipore in the U.S. and Canada.
Note: Merck KGaA or Merck shall mean Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany