Compoz(TM) Technology Recognized By The Scientist Magazine

Gene Editing Technology by Sigma-Aldrich included in Top 10 Innovations of 2008

Sigma-Aldrich's (NASDAQ: SIAL) CompoZr ä Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Innovations of 2008 by The Scientist magazine. The Company's targeted gene-editing technology was included in the magazine's inaugural list of the most outstanding products to enter the life sciences market.

Judged by a panel of four experts that has collectively published more than 700 scholarly articles, The Scientist' s Top 10 Innovations list ranks the year's most impressive new products for the life science market. The winning technologies either make work easier and cheaper or push life science research into new frontiers. Sigma-Aldrich's CompoZr technology was ranked third in the list of 2008 innovations. According to judge Dave Piston, “Building transgenic animals is time-consuming and often frustrating. This approach gives us another orthogonal tool for these preparations, and it looks very promising so far.”

Sigma-Aldrich's CompoZr platform of reagents provides researchers with the ability to target and precisely manipulate the genome of living cells, resulting in cell lines or whole organisms with defined gene deletions, insertions, or corrections. CompoZr is currently offered as a customized service for developing ZFNs for specific gene targets and will eventually be expanded to include ZFN-based kits for targeted transgene insertion and a catalog of off-the-shelf reagents for commonly studied gene targets, gene families, and pathways. Applications for Sigma's new platform technology include creation of knockout and knock-in cell lines, cell lines that yield significantly greater amounts of protein, and novel transgenic animal models.

"Zinc Finger Nuclease technology has the potential to fundamentally alter the way research on living cells and organisms is conducted," said Dr. David Smoller, President of Sigma-Aldrich's Research Biotech Business Unit. "This recognition is another example of the great interest in CompoZr platform the life science community has shown since its launch in September."

The full list of The Scientist 's Top 10 Innovations of 2008 can be viewed at http://www.the-scientist.com/2008/12/1/45/1/ . For more information on Sigma-Aldrich's CompoZr zinc finger nuclease technology platform, visit http:// or contact a sales representative at zfn@sial.com .  

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 Innovation and Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning Web site at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com .