Sigma® Life Science Launches Pre-designed CompoZr® Knockout Zinc Finger Nucleases for Entire Human Genome

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and services research business of Sigma-Aldrich® (Nasdaq: SIAL), today announced the release of its pre-designed CompoZr Knockout Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) technology to knockout any gene in the human genome.  The new offer, attractively priced to fit within the budget of a typical laboratory, can generate permanent and heritable gene knockouts in human cell lines within weeks.  For more detailed information, visit www.wherebiobegins.com/knockout.

Currently, few laboratories create gene knockouts in human cell lines due to the inefficiencies of the natural cellular homologous recombination system and the investment of time and labor required to screen the resulting cells.  In contrast, a wealth of peer-reviewed literature has shown that CompoZr ZFNs efficiently generate human cell lines with precise and stable gene knockouts in a matter of weeks.(1)

"Sigma Life Science has worked diligently to develop predesigned CompoZr Knockout ZFNs for each gene in the human genome to make this ground breaking technology more readily available to the research community," said David Smoller, Chief Scientific Officer of Sigma Life Science.  "Researchers can select a ZFN from our library and swiftly knockout their target gene in any human cell line."

In this new offering, Sigma has designed CompoZr ZFNs that will produce a knockout in each gene by inducing a double-strand break at a defined site within the gene's first three exons.  This double strand break stimulates the cell's natural DNA repair pathways, resulting in a permanent, site-specific deletion or mutation that disrupts the gene's function.  Robust and on-target gene knockout using CompoZr Knockout ZFNs is guaranteed by functional validation prior to shipment and unique enhancements to the DNA-recognition and cleavage ZFN subunits.

All CompoZr Knockout ZFNs can be ordered directly through the Your Favorite Gene powered by Ingenuity (YFG) web portal at www.wherebiobegins.com/yfg.

More sophisticated genetic modifications, such as single nucleotide substitutions, can be generated through Sigma Life Science's CompoZr Custom ZFN Service.  The CompoZr Targeted Integration Kit also allows rapid integration and expression of a gene of interest at the well-characterized adeno-associated virus integration site 1 (AAVS1) on human chromosome 19.

Reference

(1)  http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/life-science/zinc-finger-nuclease-technology/zfn-references.html

Cautionary statement: The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "expected," "ideally suited" or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding potential future revenues from products 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 CompoZr Knockout ZFNs will assist the Company to achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future.  In particular, management's expectations regarding products associated with CompoZr Knockout ZFNs 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 Life Science: Sigma Life Science is a Sigma-Aldrich business that represents the Company's leadership in innovative biological products and services for the global life science market and offers an array of biologically-rich products and reagents that researchers use in scientific investigation.  Product areas include biomolecules, genomics and functional genomics, cells and cell-based assays, transgenics, protein assays, stem cell research, epigenetics and custom services/oligonucleotides.  Sigma Life Science also provides an extensive range critical bioessentials like biochemicals, antibiotics, buffers, carbohydrates, enzymes, forensic tools, hematology and histology, nucleotides, amino acids and their derivatives, and cell culture media.

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company committed to Enabling Science to Improve the Quality of Life.  Its chemical and biochemical 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.  The Company 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 40 countries and has 7,900 employees providing excellent service worldwide.  For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning Web site at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com.

Sigma-Aldrich, Sigma and CompoZr are registered trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Co. and its affiliate Sigma-Aldrich Biotechnology, L.P.

SOURCE Sigma Life Science