Merck

What Merck does

MilliporeSigma is the life science division of Merck KGaA, a publicly-traded German conglomerate (Frankfurt: MRK) headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany. The division operates as an integrated platform combining six legacy brands (Sigma-Aldrich, Millipore, SAFC, Supelco, Milli-Q, BioReliance) into a portfolio of more than 200,000 products serving pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers, academic and government research institutions, and analytical quality-control laboratories across more than 120 countries. Its core product lines span laboratory chemicals and reagents, filtration consumables, cell culture media, virus filtration solutions, single-use bioprocess containers, certified reference materials, and water purification systems, supported by contract testing services and regulatory documentation programs such as the Emprove risk-assessment suite.

The technology base rests on proprietary process consumables (Viresolve Pro virus filtration membranes, MultiScreen filter plates, Ultimus single-use films, MAST automated bioreactor sampling) and a certified reference materials program manufactured under ISO 17034 and characterized under ISO/IEC 17025. Recent product launches emphasize sustainability (the first bio-based HPLC solvent portfolio, with 25.9% lower CO2 emissions) and bioprocessing intensification. The BioContinuum Platform integrates the MAST acquisition with MilliporeSigma's upstream and downstream bioprocessing consumables to offer a workflow-spanning solution for biologics manufacturers.

The business model is primarily a one-time product sale model with complementary contract and subscription pricing for enterprise customers. E-commerce via sigmaaldrich.com handles bottom-of-funnel transactional sales, while account-based sales, contract pricing, and dedicated field sales support pharmaceutical manufacturing customers with technical consultation and regulatory support. Distribution is global, with the platform also serving as a storefront for premier partner brands including Roche, Cytiva, Corning, and Eppendorf. Revenue is generated through unit pricing for individual products and volume/contract pricing for organizational accounts, with the distribution footprint in the United States supported by a Milwaukee, Wisconsin warehouse enabling same-day shipping.

Name

Merck

Legal name

Merck KGaA

Website

https://sigmaaldrich.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Merck KGaA's MilliporeSigma division provides life science products and bioprocessing solutions to pharmaceutical manufacturers, research institutions, and laboratories globally through a 200,000+ product portfolio spanning Sigma-Aldrich, Millipore, SAFC, Supelco, Milli-Q, and BioReliance brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Science Products & Services

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Viral Vector Manufacturing Services (AAV, lentiviral, adenoviral) (HLAAAKAD), Microbiology & Sterility Assurance (Bioburden/Endotoxin/Sterility) (HLAGADAE)

Keywords

• Life science products
• Biopharmaceutical manufacturing
• Laboratory chemicals
• Virus filtration solutions
• Certified reference materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Darmstadt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Life Science Product Sales: Sale of chemicals, reagents, lab equipment, filtration products, cell culture media, certified reference materials, and bioprocessing solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and research institutions

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MilliporeSigma develops, manufactures and distributes more than 200,000 life science products spanning laboratory chemicals and reagents, filtration and virus clearance devices, cell culture media and inserts, single-use bioprocess containers, certified reference materials, lab water purification systems, and contract testing services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic research markets. Offerings are sold direct through sigmaaldrich.com and through enterprise sales channels, serving customers across 120+ countries.

Product overview

MilliporeSigma operates as a unified platform comprising multiple sub-brands: Millipore® (pharma/biopharma products and CTDMO services), Sigma-Aldrich® (lab and production materials), SAFC® (pharma raw materials), Supelco® (analytical products), Milli-Q® (lab water solutions), and BioReliance® (contract testing services). These brands work together to serve the global life science industry across research, biotechnology development, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The product portfolio includes filtration solutions (MultiScreen® Filter Plates, Viresolve® Pro virus filters), cell culture products (Millicell®), water purification (Milli-Q®), and certified reference materials (Cerilliant®, Certipur®, TraceCERT®). The company expanded its bioprocessing capabilities through acquisition of the MAST® Platform from Lonza, which integrates into the BioContinuum™ Platform for enhanced automated bioreactor sampling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sigma-Aldrich: Lab & Production Materials - comprehensive range of chemicals, biochemicals, and laboratory products
• Millipore
• SAFC
• Supelco
• Milli-Q
• BioReliance
• Emprove
• Viresolve
• MultiScreen
• Amicon
• Durapore
• Immobilon

Products and services

• Viresolve® Pro Virus Filtration Solution Virus filtration solution for biomanufacturing providing high flux and effective virus retention (LRV ≥ 4.0 for parvovirus) for monoclonal antibody and recombinant protein production. Includes the Viresolve Pro Device and Pro Shield prefilters.
• Viresolve® Pro-S Virus Filtration Solution Advanced virus filtration solution designed for challenging process fluids including hydrophobic or high-concentration molecules, providing effective virus retention with enhanced throughput.
• MultiScreen® Filter Plates 96- and 384-well filtration plates with diverse membrane options (Durapore PVDF, Immobilon-P, PTFE, polycarbonate, nylon) for cell-based assays, sample preparation, ELISpot, PCR purification, cell migration and solubility assays.
• Amicon® Centrifugal Filters Ultra centrifugal filters for protein concentration and buffer exchange, available in various MWCO options.
• Millex® Syringe Filters Syringe filters for laboratory filtration applications.
• Millicell® Cell Culture Inserts and Plates Cell culture inserts and plates supporting hanging or standing insert formats for biologically relevant cell growth.
• MAST® (Modular Automated Sampling Technology) Platform Automated bioreactor sampling system providing real-time sampling for bioprocessing, integrated into the BioContinuum Platform.
• Ultimus® Single-Use Process Container Film Single-use bioprocess container film technology for bioprocess containers.
• Bio-based HPLC Solvent Range First bio-based solvent portfolio for HPLC made from renewable feedstocks, including bio-based acetonitrile, methanol and ethanol; offers 25.9% lower CO2-equivalent emissions versus fossil-fuel alternatives and is a drop-in replacement for existing methods.
• Anti-TREK-1 Antibody (T6448) Rabbit affinity isolated antibody, buffered aqueous solution, for Western blot detection of the TREK-1 potassium channel.
• Cerilliant® Certified Reference Materials Certified reference materials for chromatography, mass spectrometry and analytical testing applications.
• Certipur® Certified Reference Materials High-quality certified reference materials including Karl Fischer standards, pH buffer calibration standards and elemental standards.
• TraceCERT® Certified Reference Materials Certified reference materials manufactured in accordance with ISO 17034 and characterized in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025.
• BioReliance® Contract Testing Services Contract testing services for biopharmaceuticals including viral clearance testing and other biopharmaceutical testing capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25.9% lower CO2 equivalent emissions compared to traditional fossil-fuel-based solvents
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• ChemLexcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 January 2026Merck and ChemLex signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at promoting automated chemistry and technological innovation.
• Rapid Micro BiosystemscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 December 2025Strategic partnership where Merck MilliporeSigma works with Rapid Micro Biosystems, which reported serving 75% of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies. The partnership is expected to drive growth and improve gross margins for Rapid Micro Biosystems starting 2026.
• LonzamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 April 2022MilliporeSigma acquired Lonza's MAST Platform, an automated bioreactor sampling system, to enhance bioprocessing capabilities. The platform integrates into MilliporeSigma's BioContinuum Platform and provides real-time data while reducing process development time.
• RochecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoche portfolio of biochemical reagents, qPCR, and nucleic acid purification products distributed through MilliporeSigma channels under labware partner program.
• CorningcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorning brand glass and plastic labware, filtration membranes, cell culture supplies, and equipment distributed through MilliporeSigma.
• CytivacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCytiva products including chromatography resins, Whatman and Pall filtration solutions, and Amersham western blotting products distributed through MilliporeSigma.
• EppendorfcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEppendorf brand conical and microfuge tubes, pipettes, dispensers, centrifuges, microplates, mixers, spectrometers, and PCR equipment distributed through MilliporeSigma.
• BRANDcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBRANDTECH glassware, plasticware, and liquid handling products including micropipettes and pipette tips distributed through MilliporeSigma.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher is the largest life sciences tools company and competes with MilliporeSigma across reagents, lab consumables, bioprocessing, and analytical instruments, with significantly greater scale and instrument bundling capability.
• Danaher Corporation: Danaher owns Cytiva and Pall, directly competing in bioprocess filtration, chromatography resins, and single-use solutions that overlap with MilliporeSigma's Viresolve and Ultimus franchises.

Direct peers

• Sartorius AG: Sartorius is a focused bioprocessing pure-play offering filtration, fermentation, and single-use solutions that directly overlap with MilliporeSigma's biomanufacturing portfolio for cell culture and biologics production.
• Lonza Group AG: Lonza is both a CDMO partner and a direct competitor in cell culture media, bioprocessing services, and now competes with MilliporeSigma after divesting its MAST automated sampling platform to the latter.
• Agilent Technologies: Agilent competes with MilliporeSigma's Supelco analytical chemistry and certified reference materials businesses across chromatography, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopy consumables.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Bio-Rad competes in life science research reagents, western blotting (Immobilon overlap), and protein separation products, addressing the same research institution and biopharma customer base as MilliporeSigma.
• Waters Corporation: Waters is a leading analytical instruments and chromatography consumables provider, competing directly with Supelco columns, reference materials, and chromatography workflows in pharma QC.
• Avantor: Avantor distributes chemicals, reagents, and bioprocessing materials with a comparable go-to-market in lab supplies and pharma production raw materials, overlapping with Sigma-Aldrich and SAFC.
• Eppendorf AG: Eppendorf is a leading supplier of pipettes, tubes, centrifuges, and PCR equipment, competing with MilliporeSigma's lab consumables while simultaneously being distributed through the MilliporeSigma storefront.

Emerging players

• Repligen Corporation: Repligen specializes in bioprocessing filtration, chromatography, and process analytics, competing with MilliporeSigma's filtration and BioContinuum platform with a focused niche strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sigmaaldrich
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@MerckLifeScience/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/SigmaAldrich
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sigma-aldrich
• Instagraminstagram.com/mercklifescience

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A8 records

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Merck