EMD Licenses Luminex(R) Technology to Develop Assays for the xMAP(R) Platform

The Novagen(R) brand of EMD Chemicals (EMD), a subsidiary of Merck
KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany (Merck), announced today that it has obtained
a license from the Luminex Corporation to develop immunoassays for the
xMAP(R) Technology platform.

EMD/Merck is engaged in the development, manufacture and
distribution of a broad array of research tools used for life science
research and will create multiplex immunoassays using xMAP Technology
to meet the evolving needs of drug discovery and cell signaling
researchers.

"The advantages of multiplex protein analysis are well
established," said Lisa Johnson, Vice President Corporate Development
with EMD. "The Luminex(R) xMAP platform has been instrumental in
broadening the adoption of multiplex analysis. The ability to
simultaneously perform several assays on one sample in a single
reaction results in considerable savings of both time and precious
sample, and dramatically reduces reagent and labor costs."

EMD has assembled the Novagen(R) WideScreen(TM) Group, an
international interdisciplinary team of assay-development scientists
to construct the next generation of multiplex immunoassays. After
extensive R&D, the first highly validated assay panels developed by
the group will be available globally in December 2007 through the
international sales and distribution network of the EMD/Merck group
under the Novagen brand name.

Johnson continued: "Combining key technologies licensed from
Luminex and other partners enables the WideScreen Group to develop new
bead-based assays to accelerate the drug discovery process, including
the first truly quantitative multiplex assays for phosphorylated
signaling proteins."

Initially, EMD will focus on creating assays that detect the
phosphorylation status of key proteins in disease-related signaling
pathways. These assays will enable researchers to determine the effect
of candidate compounds on multiple pathways, to allow a better
understanding of on- and off-target effects.

About EMD Chemicals Inc.

EMD provides a broad range of innovative life science research
products used world-wide in disease-related life science research at
universities as well as in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
The company is part of the Performance and Life Science Chemicals
(PLS) division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and operates as EMD
in North America and Merck outside North America. Globally, EMD is
known in the scientific community through its product brands
Calbiochem(R), Novabiochem(R), and Novagen(R).

About Merck KGaA

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with sales
of EUR 6.3 billion in 2006, a history that began in 1668, and a future
shaped by 30,962 employees in 61 countries. In 1917 the U.S.
subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent
company ever since.