SAFC Expands PharmaGrade Raw Materials Portfolio to Meet Growing Demand; Expects to Double PharmaGrade Portfolio in 2013

ST. LOUIS, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ: SIAL) today announced that its custom manufacturing and services business unit, SAFC (www.safcglobal.com), is expanding its line of PharmaGrade products with the addition of 20 raw materials for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. The PharmaGrade portfolio of high quality buffers, amino acids and specialty chemicals is expected to double in size by the end of 2013.

As the premier product line within SAFC's critical raw material offering, PharmaGrade addresses the need for greater supply chain transparency and enhanced quality for biopharmaceutical manufacturing applications. Products in the PharmaGrade portfolio are provided with full documentation of manufacturing history, are compliant with either GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards or the SAFC Elite Quality grade standards, and are quality assurance reviewed and released. PharmaGrade products also include applicable change control notification and a dedicated product support team.

Since its launch in early 2012, the PharmaGrade program began with more than 30 products and has continued to steadily grow. Sigma-Aldrich's acquisition of Research Organics, Inc. in April 2012 contributed significantly to the program's resources and capabilities to further support the increasing market demand for new PharmaGrade materials. SAFC expects the PharmaGrade portfolio to grow to 80 raw materials with the addition of 20 new products available at the end of March 2013.

"The introduction of the PharmaGrade portfolio was designed to meet the growing need for greater transparency for raw materials. The initiative has been extremely well received by our customers and has resulted in tremendous demand for the portfolio," stated Deb Slagle, Vice President of Marketing and Research Development at SAFC. "The acquisition of Research Organics has accelerated our ability to add products more rapidly and significantly contributed to the overall success of the portfolio."

"PharmaGrade is a clear reflection of our drive to offer quality products in tandem with exceptional customer support," added Gilles Cottier, President of SAFC. "We felt that by listening to our customers and offering a level of products they need with the support they need, we would be able to enhance the quality of solutions we can offer to the market. We continue to apply all feedback to the further development of the line, and will continue to expand the PharmaGrade portfolio in a strategic manner."

For more information on the PharmaGrade portfolio and its complete listing of products, visit www.safcglobal.com/pharmagrade.

The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "is expected to" or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding potential future revenues from products derived there from. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. There can be no guarantee that the products in SAFC's product offering will continue to meet the demands of the marketplace. Nor can there be any guarantee that any of these products will achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future. 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. In particular, management's expectations regarding these products 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 SAFC:  SAFC, the custom manufacturing and services business unit of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, is recognized as a top 10 global specialty chemicals and biologics supplier. As a trusted manufacturer for the life science and high technology industries, SAFC works closely with customers to resolve development challenges and accelerate the product pipeline utilizing its global "Centers of Excellence" and dedicated manufacturing facilities. Its rich portfolio includes high-purity inorganic materials for high technology applications, critical raw materials and extensive biologics safety testing services for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, and complex, high-potent APIs and key intermediates for pharmaceutical manufacturing. For more information, visit www.safcglobal.com.

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company whose biochemical, organic chemical products, kits and services are used in scientific research, including genomic and proteomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical, diagnostics and high technology SAFC manufacturing. Sigma-Aldrich customers include more than 1.3 million scientists and technologists in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals and industry. The Company operates in 38 countries and has nearly 9,000 employees whose objective is to provide excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to accelerating customer success through innovation and leadership in Life Science and High Technology. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its website at www.sigma-aldrich.com.

©2013 Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC. All rights reserved. Sigma-Aldrich and SAFC are trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC or its Affiliates, registered in the US and other countries.

SOURCE Sigma-Aldrich Corporation