EMD Chemicals (EMD), a subsidiary of Merck KGaA (Merck) of
Darmstadt, Germany, announced today that it is partnering with
Rules-Based Medicine, Inc. (RBM), the leading multiplexed biomarker
testing laboratory for the life sciences industry, to develop and
distribute high-quality immunoassay products on the Luminex(R) xMAP(R)
platform under the Novagen brand. Under the terms of the agreement,
RBM is granting EMD/Merck exclusive distribution rights to the largest
catalog of quantitative protein multiplex assays currently available.
RBM of Austin, TX, will combine its comprehensive testing content
with the international sales and marketing network of EMD/Merck to
provide optimized kits that enable researchers to measure hundreds of
important biomarkers from serum, plasma and other biological fluids.
"We´re pleased to be working with RBM to bring these highly
validated multi-analyte profiling kits to the worldwide market," said
Lisa Johnson, Vice President Corporate Development with EMD. "Working
together, we will leverage the first-class reputation of RBM and their
extensive assay content with our global sales and distribution network
to deliver a wide range of reproducible and quantitative immunoassay
kits to researchers worldwide."
"While we´ve been very successful in developing these assays and
providing testing services to our clients, we realized that we needed
to satisfy the demands of the broader research market by packaging our
immunoassay products as kits," said RBM CEO T. Craig Benson.
"EMD/Merck provides the international sales and marketing
infrastructure to distribute these kits, co-branded with their
well-known and respected Novagen(R) brand."
Scheduled for availability in mid-2008, the co-branded kits will
be sold to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and academic
institutions. RBM and EMD/Merck will also collaborate to design new
products that meet the evolving requirements of their customers.
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.
About Rules-Based Medicine
Rules-Based Medicine (RBM), the world´s leading multiplexed
biomarker testing company, provides comprehensive protein biomarker
products and services based on its Multi-Analyte Profiling (MAP)
technology platform. RBM´s biomarker testing service, which is CLIA
certified and supports GLP studies, provides pre-clinical and clinical
researchers with reproducible, quantitative, multiplexed immunoassay
data for hundreds of proteins in a cost-effective manner, from a small
sample volume and from multiple species. More information about RBM is
located at www.rbmmaps.com.
