Sigma-Aldrich Welcomes Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to...

Sigma-Aldrich Welcomes Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to the RNAi Partnership Program

Researchers gain access to Sigma-Aldrich's leading MISSION(TM) shRNA libraries

Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq: SIAL), a leading life science company and member of The RNAi Consortium (TRC), proudly welcomes the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to the RNAi Partnership Program (http://sigma-aldrich.com/rpp). The RNAi Partnership Program provides new members with access to cutting-edge products in Sigma-Aldrich's functional genomics portfolio, including shRNA libraries developed by TRC targeting more than 15,000 human genes and 15,000 mouse genes (http://sigma-aldrich.com/shrna).

"We are excited to become a member of the RNAi Partnership Program and we look forward to productive collaborations with our colleagues at Sigma- Aldrich," said Dr. Hakim Djaballah, Director of the High Throughput Screening Core Facility. "Many of our researchers are interested in targeted gene knockdown on an individual or gene-focused basis, as well as a genome-wide scale for which we are fully equipped. Access to Sigma-Aldrich's MISSION shRNA libraries will greatly enhance our current gene scanning capabilities and will enable us to discover and validate cancer-causing genes and pathways which will hopefully lead to novel approaches to therapeutic intervention for cancer patients."

Through the RNAi Partnership Program, Sigma-Aldrich aims to establish collaborations with select academic institutions. The company advances functional genomics research by aiding academic researchers with early exposure to emerging new techniques, a broad portfolio of intellectual property, and special partnership pricing on Sigma-Aldrich's extensive RNAi product lines. Existing members of the RNAi Partnership Program include The Cleveland Clinic, The Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Washington University of St. Louis, Princeton University, The Wistar Institute, and Rutgers University. These members enjoy unique access to cutting-edge RNAi tools for the study of basic gene function and the underlying causes of disease.

"Sigma-Aldrich is committed to expanding our collaborative relationships with prestigious institutions like the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center," said Tim Fleming, Sigma-Aldrich's Director of Global Commercial Marketing for Life Sciences. "We look forward to the success of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering researchers utilizing our leading MISSION library, and will continue to look for innovative ways to accelerate our partners' success."

Sigma-Aldrich has recently made major commitments to the rapidly developing area of RNAi. This began with the establishment of research collaborations with the RNAi Consortium, followed by licensing agreements with MIT to make and sell the shRNA libraries developed by TRC and, subsequently, the introduction of Sigma-Aldrich's MISSION TRC shRNA libraries. Additional agreements with Alnylam, Benitec and Oxford BioMedica provide Sigma-Aldrich with a major intellectual property portfolio in RNAi. To find out more about the RNAi Partnership Program and how to become a member, visit us at (http://sigma-aldrich.com/rpp).

For more information about The RNAi Consortium and participating members, please visit http://www.broad.mit.edu/rnai/trc.

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. 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 36 countries and has 8,000 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award- winning website at sigma-aldrich.com.

Cautionary Statement: This release contains forward-looking statements relating to future performance, goals, strategic actions and initiatives and similar intentions and beliefs and other statements regarding the Companies' expectations, goals, 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.

SOURCE Sigma-Aldrich