Deal Type    Partnership
Sub-Category Commercialization,Licensing Agreement,Manufacturing
Deal Status  Announced: 2009-11-03

Deal Participants

Partner 1 (Company) Sigma-Aldrich Corporation
Partner 2 (Company) Polyplus-transfection SA

"To help our customers with their quest in printed electronics innovation, Aldrich developed an extensive line of organic electronics products that includes materials critical to support ongoing device improvement efforts," said Dr. Ilya Koltover, business development manager for Aldrich Chemistry and Materials Science. "We are committed to serving researchers around the globe by enhancing our organic electronics product line with new and revolutionary device-grade materials, such as TIPS Pentacene. We are pleased to team with 3M and intend to extend this collaboration further as new materials are developed and become available."

"3M is very pleased to offer our TIPS Pentacene for research usage through Sigma-Aldrich," said Larry Ennett, business manager for 3M Electronics Markets Materials Division. "This agreement will provide increased global access to this soluble semiconductor and help the developing organic electronics market grow."

TIPS Pentacene, known chemically as 6,13-Bis(Triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene, is soluble in solvents compatible with the electronics manufacturing environment and has been used to make organic field effect transistors (OFETs) with highest reported switching speeds and field-effect mobilities in its class. These properties make TIPS Pentacene the most intensely studied small molecule soluble organic semiconductor and a prime candidate for emerging OFET applications such as backplane circuitry for utility-grade displays.

To learn more about TIPS Pentacene and other new organic electronics materials available from Sigma-Aldrich, visit http://www.sigma-aldrich.com/oel or read the latest issue of the Aldrich Material Matters(TM) "Organic and Molecular Electronics" available at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com/materialmatters. For more information about 3M Electronics Markets Materials Division, visit www.3M.com/electronics.

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific research, including genomic and proteomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development and as key components in pharmaceutical, diagnostic and other high technology manufacturing. Sigma-Aldrich has customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 38 countries and has 7,800 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Innovation and Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning website at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com.

Cautionary Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements which can be identified by the use of forwardlooking terminology such as "intend", "committed", "exclusive" or similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no assurance that the market for TIPS Pentacene will develop as the Company expects or that further products will be added to the collaboration between 3M and the Company. A further discussion of the Company's risk factors can be found in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Sigma-Aldrich and Aldrich are registered trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Biotechnology LP and Sigma-Aldrich Co. 3M is a trademark of 3M Corp.

SOURCE Sigma-Aldrich

http://www.sigma-aldrich.com

"Sigma-Aldrich offers the largest portfolio of modifications and labels for oligonucleotides. We consider ZNA an important addition to our portfolio. The increased performances seen for ZNA oligonucleotides offers advantages for our customers, and we look forward to making this technology available to our global customer base," commented Theresa S. Creasey, Ph.D., Vice President of Sigma(R) Custom Products, Sigma-Aldrich.

Frederic Perraud, CEO of Polyplus-transfection, added: "We are very proud to collaborate with a leading life science company such as Sigma-Aldrich. This major agreement gives access to our ZNA technology to scientists worldwide and allows Polyplus to capitalize on its nucleic acid delivery research toward innovative applications in molecular biology."

Sigma-Aldrich offers a comprehensive collection of customized oligonucleotide services, including DNA oligos, DNA probes, RNA, siRNA oligos and peptide synthesis. For more information on ZNA from Sigma-Aldrich, visit http://www.sigma.com/znaoligos.

*About ZNA(TM)

ZNA(TM) (Zip Nucleic Acids) are oligocation-oligonucleotide conjugates that have an increased affinity for their complementary sequence without losing selectivity. This affinity increase is due to the cationic moieties, which reduce the charge repulsion between the two strands of nucleic acid. Thanks to the non-directive nature of electrostatic interactions, this affinity gain is independent of the base sequence and hence predictable, thus making the design of ZNA extremely easy. ZNA are made with a standard oligonucleotide synthesizer allowing fast, cost effective production as well as the ability to add other modifications such as fluorescent markers.

About Sigma-Aldrich

Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology manufacturing. Sigma-Aldrich has customers in Life Science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 38 countries and has 7,800 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Innovation and Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service.

About Polyplus-transfection

Polyplus-transfection is a research-focused company developing and marketing innovative solutions for transfection and therapies based on nucleic acid delivery. Based in Strasbourg, France, the company has been selling its transfection reagents since 2001. The multidisciplinary Polyplus R&D team includes chemists, molecular and cellular biologists. Polyplus-transfection has extended its field of expertise to molecular biology reagents with the development of ZNA(TM) oligonucleotides. The company has numerous patents pending and licenses in the fields of nucleic acid delivery and modified oligonucleotides.

Cautionary Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements relating to future strategic actions and initiatives and similar intentions and beliefs and other statements regarding the Companies' expectations, beliefs, intentions and the like, which involve assumptions regarding the Companies' operations and conditions in the markets the Companies serve. The Companies do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Sigma-Aldrich and Sigma are trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Biotechnology L.P. and Sigma-Aldrich Co.

ZNA is a trademark of Polyplus-transfection.

SOURCE Sigma-Aldrich

http://www.sigma-aldrich.com

Partners will be asked to conduct their own evaluation studies and provide feedback, and in return will be offered a number of benefits, including first access to new knockout models and ordering priority and fulfillment, as well as participating in the establishment of the research and development pipeline for this technology.

"The real value of our knockout rat models will lie in the phenotypes that they display," commented Dr. Edward Weinstein, Director of SAGE Labs. "As a result, we are actively seeking experts in the field who are interested in the initial validation of these animals as part of our exclusive SAGE Priority Partners Program."

Initially, SAGE Labs will be working on knockout rat models that target over 20 genes across a number of research areas. One example is Neurobiology, where knockout rat models are being developed with conditions such as Schizophrenia, Parkinson's Disease, Obesity and Alzheimer's. The initial portfolio of models for neuroscience applications includes:

    1. DISC 1 - Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 - The DISC 1 protein plays a role
       in neuronal cell growth and movement and was originally identified
       through a family with prevalent history of schizophrenia and other
       neurological disorders.  It is suspected to play a role not only in
       schizophrenia, but also in bipolar disorder and depression.
    2. ApoE - Apolipoprotein E - ApoE is an essential protein responsible for
       the production of normal triglyceride containing lipoprotein catabolism,
       vital for the breakdown and release of energy. While most importantly
       identified for its role in cardiovascular disease, variations in the ApoE
       gene have recently been implicated in Alzheimer's disease and
       atherosclerosis.
    3. Leptin - Leptin - Leptin is an adipose (fat) derived hormone that plays a
       role in appetite and metabolism, and is also a player in satiety
       signaling.  This has led to its study and significant research into the
       role that neurological signaling plays in obesity.

    4. BDNF - Brain derived neurotrophic factor - The BDNF protein is a nerve
       growth factor found in the brain that acts by supporting existing neurons
       and encouraging the growth of new neurons. Defects in BDNF expression
       have been linked to Alzheimer's, Huntington's disease, depression,
       dementia, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

"Our recently announced SAGEspeed model creation platform enables us to develop animal models in about four to five months in both Rat and Mouse, which is about a third of the time it would take using an Embryo Stem Cell approach," continued Weinstein. "The models that we have developed thus far are really the tip of the iceberg in terms of the long-term potential for 'knockout' gene technology to offer viable, rapidly available animal models with specific genetic changes that are expected to enable researchers to better understand gene function and, based on that understanding, develop new therapeutic approaches."

Looking ahead, Sigma-Aldrich sees significant potential for applications that use ZFN technology to develop rodent models for most types of human disease that could theoretically reduce research times by years and thus save a significant number of lives.

Further information on the SAGE Priority Partners Program can be accessed online at www.sageresearchmodels.com.

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology manufacturing. Sigma-Aldrich has customers in Life Science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 38 countries and has 7,800 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Innovation and Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service.

Cautionary Statement: This release contains forward-looking statements relating to future strategic actions and initiatives and similar intentions and beliefs and other statements regarding the Company's expectations, beliefs, intentions and the like, which involve assumptions regarding the Company's operations and conditions in the markets the Company serves. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Sigma-Aldrich, Sigma, SAGE, and CompoZr are trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Biotechnology L.P. and Sigma-Aldrich Co.

SOURCE Sigma-Aldrich

http://www.sigma-aldrich.com