Darmstadt, Germany,December 1, 2016/Korea IT Times – Merck, a leading life science and
technology company, today announced an expansion of its distribution alliance with
Roche to include the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative real-time
PCR (qPCR) enzyme products of Kapa Biosystems, a company acquired by Roche in
2015.
The addition of the Kapa portfolio strengthens Merck’s existing distribution
relationship with Roche by providing one of the most complementary suites of highperformance
tools for PCR and qPCR available in the industry today.
“The alliance extension with Roche will offer our customers greater access to novel
products via our world-class distribution channel,” said Udit Batra, Member of the
Merck Executive Board and CEO, Life Science. “These enzymes represent a
significant advantage over commercially available DNA polymerases and thus offer
the potential for entirely new PCR applications.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will employ its sales, marketing and ecommerce
expertise and leverage the strength of its relationships with the scientific
community to present and distribute Kapa PCR and quantitative PCR reagents and
kits. The distribution agreement includes all geographies except the U.S., Japan and
Brazil. Financial details were not disclosed.
Roche inked the global exclusive distribution agreement for its Biochemical Reagents
portfolio with Sigma-Aldrich in July 2015. Following the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich
by Merck in the same year, this agreement became an important part of Merck,
driving growth in its life science business and offering premier brand tools for
genomics, proteomics and cell analysis.
The novel PCR enzymes offered under the expanded distribution agreement have
improved tolerance to common PCR inhibitors, increased speed and specific activity,
and higher fidelity. These characteristics enable higher quality results and improved
workflows. i
Transition of Kapa’s PCR and qPCR portfolios to Merck (visit www.sigmaaldrich.com/kapa)
is expected to be completed
by January 1, 2017. In the interim, these products will continue to be available
through existing Kapa channels.