New Distribution Agreement With Boehringer Ingelheim Offers Sigma-Aldrich Customers Expanded Biodegradable Polylactide Polymers for Biomaterials Research.

ST. LOUIS, April 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sigma-Aldrich® (Nasdaq: SIAL) announced today it has entered into a distribution agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, to offer its portfolio of RESOMER biodegradable polylactide (PLA) and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymers to the research community.  Offered under Aldrich® Chemistry's Materials Science initiative, RESOMER polymers will be available for use in research and development applications, with a reliable supply of chemically identical GMP materials for scale-up and commercialization made available from Boehringer Ingelheim. The agreement provides an important, seamless supply of polymer products to support biomaterials research. A complete product list is available at www.sigma-aldrich.com/poly.

PLA and PLGA polymers are biodegradable polyesters that degrade in the body by simple hydrolysis of the ester backbone to non-harmful and non-toxic compounds.  The degradation products are either excreted by the kidneys or eliminated as carbon dioxide and water through well-known biochemical pathways.  Current applications of the polymers include surgical sutures and resorbable implants, with significant interest to further expand the use of these materials to drug encapsulation and delivery applications. Because PLA/PLGA polymers are considered safe, non-toxic and biocompatible by regulatory agencies in virtually all developed countries, additional applications of these materials can be brought to market more quickly and cost effectively than those utilizing a novel polymer with unproven biocompatibility.

"PLA, PLGA and their copolymers are some of the most frequently used polymer materials studied for biomedical applications with properties that can be tuned by changing the polymer composition within the basic PLA/PLGA theme," said Dr. Ilya Koltover, Market Segment Manager for Aldrich Materials Science.  "These polymers have been used successfully in a number of approved medical applications, making them a fundamental platform technology for biomaterials research. Through our agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim, we can ensure scientists around the globe a reliable, seamless supply of these high quality materials, from research to GMP to support all phases of drug discovery and development."

The Aldrich RESOMER offer consists of twelve PLA/PLGA copolymers, as well as a related biodegradable polymer poly(dioxanone), with plans for future expansion. The new portfolio complements Aldrich's current selection of polymers for biomedical applications, which includes an extensive offer of functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) PEG polymers and natural biocompatible polymers.

The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "fundamental platform technology," "are considered safe," "more cost effectively" or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding the RESOMER products, or regarding potential future revenues from information derived therefrom. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and 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 guarantee that information derived from the RESOMER products will continue to meet the demands of the marketplace. Nor can there be any guarantee that the RESOMER products will achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding these web tools could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the Company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Company's assets and liabilities as recorded in its consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Sigma-Aldrich's current Form 10-K on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Sigma-Aldrich is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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 7,700 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.

Sigma-Aldrich and Aldrich are registered trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Biotechnology LP and Sigma-Aldrich Co.  RESOMER® is a registered trademark of Bohringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Germany.

SOURCE Sigma-Aldrich