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Dividend Aristocrats Keep Raising Their Dividends

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:46:00 GMT

Overall investors have mainly been focusing on dividend cuts in 2009. I believe that most stocks that pay out dividends are cyclical in nature. Thus, they do not have the specific competitive advantages, which provide for a long and sustainable annual dividend increases over time. The starting list for any dividend growth investor, who is looking for companies, which have a proven track record of consistently raising their dividends for 25 years, is the[More...]

America’s Finest Companies Keep Raising their Dividends

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:52:00 GMT

Dividends have historically provided 40% of average annual total return performance to investors. Some researchers have found that it was re-invested dividends that contribute to the majority of total long-term returns for investors. Jeremy Siegel is one of those researchers who has found that the compounding effect of re-investing dividends has accounted for 97% of total returns in the US stock market since 1871. Add in dividend growth as an additional compounding component, and investors could achieve very decent total returns over time. While most investors are running away scared from dividend[More...]

Picks for Monday's Rally

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:35:00 GMT

Considering Friday's late day surge and the action in world markets to start the week, we are likely to get a strong rally today, and even possibly an intermediate term bottom. I plan to play this rally fairly aggressively, including looking for some advantageous entries premarket. Here are some of the names I am considering:- QLD, designed to provide twice the performance of the NASDAQ 100, is my first choice in index ETF's. It shows climax selling on last Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a high volume close in the green on Friday.[More...]

Analyst Comments: Sangamo Bioscience, CryoLife, Progressive, EnCana, Linear Tech, Cosi

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:19:00 GMT

We are optimistic about Sangamo Biosciences Inc.'s (SGMO) unique zinc finger DNA-binding protein (ZFP) technology and are encouraged to hear that the company intends to bring more drug candidates into the clinic in 2008. We are also impressed by the company's strategy to monetize this ZFP technology. Sangamo has signed agreements with Dow AgroSciences (DOW),...[More...]

Sector Performance: SIALing through 2008

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:54:00 GMT

Very few sectors outperformed the S&P 500 in last week’s turbulent trading. Coal remained...[More...]

Nasdaq 100 Stocks

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:15:08 GMT

The NASDAQ 100 Index comprises 100 of the largest non-financial and non investment publicly traded companies which are listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market Exchange. The Index includes domestic and international companies across major industry sectors includ[More...]

Observations and Stocks for Monday - Apr 6 2008 10:12PM

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:07:06 GMT

Need a breath of fresh air? Check out a conversation with Robert Rubin. He spoke with Charlie Rose on January 11, 2007. And the Winners Are…The stock scan conducted after the close on Friday found 105 winners and 12 losers. The top 100 winners are listed in alphabetical order below. Click on the column headers to sort the list. Our scan crit[More...]

Observations and Stocks for Wednesday - Apr 2 2008 12:24AM

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:18:33 GMT

The stock scan conducted after the close on Tuesday found 87 winners and 27 losers. The winners are listed in alphabetical order below. Click on the column headers to sort the list. Our scan criteria incorporates price movement, range and liquidity (500,000 shares on the day, 20-day average of 1.5 million). Ticker Close Change

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Endeca Congratulates Customer Sigma-Aldrich for Award-Winning Web Research Tool, Your Favorite Gene

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:54:00 GMT

Endeca Technologies, Inc., a search applications company, today announced that Sigma-Aldrich, an Endeca customer and leading Life Science and High Technology company, has been honored with a 2009 CIO 100 award.
Awarded at the conclusion of last week's annual CIO 100® Symposium, Sigma-Aldrich has been recognized for its pioneering and innovative Web research tool, Your Favorite Gene, powered by Ingenuity.
A powerful biological search tool, Your Favorite Gene provides scientists access to dynamic gene-based content that they can use to model and evaluate prospective experiments in the context of previously published scientific literature.

[More...]

New Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering Labs Offers Research Community Unique Rodent Models Developed Using Exclusive Gene-Editing Technology

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:55:00 GMT

Sigma-Aldrich announced today that scientists at its new Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering ) Labs in St. Louis will leverage its exclusive CompoZr Zinc Finger Nuclease gene editing technology to define, develop and offer a new generation of genetically-engineered rodent research models. Such models are commonly used to study disease states in humans and play a key role in the drug discovery process.[More...]

Aldrichimica Acta Ranked First in Organic Chemistry by Impact Factor

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:55:00 GMT

Sigma-Aldrich announced today that its chemistry review journal, Aldrichimica Acta, was recently ranked number one by Impact Factor when evaluated against all 55 international journals in the field of Organic Chemistry.[More...]

Sigma-Aldrich Offers Customizable Synthetic Extracellular Matrix for Stem Cell Research

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:56:00 GMT

Sigma-Aldrich today announced an agreement with Glycosan BioSystems for the sale of HyStem, a fully customizable synthetic extracellular matrix for stem cell research. HyStem offers researchers flexibility to tailor microenvironments for their cultured cells that mimic natural in vivo conditions, optimizing stem cell proliferation and differentiation. HyStem was developed by Glycosan BioSystems and will be sold by Sigma-Aldrich under a non-exclusive distribution agreement .[More...]

Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq: SIAL) Declares Quarterly Dividend

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:55:00 GMT

Sigma-Aldrich -- At the Board of Directors meeting held today, the Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $.145 per share. The dividend is payable on September 15, 2009 to shareholders of record on September 1, 2009.[More...]

SAFC Biosciences(R) Defines Hydrolysate Components That Enhance Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) Cell Line Protein Production

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:56:00 GMT

SAFC Biosciences, a business segment within SAFC, a member of the Sigma-Aldrich Group , announced today that it has developed a new, chemically defined cell culture supplement based on the characterization of hydrolysate components proven to provide cell growth and protein production capabilities equivalent to traditional undefined hydrolysate raw materials. The introduction of EX-CELL CD Hydrolysate Fusion marks the Company's continued focus on raw material characterization .[More...]

OMT Announces a Breakthrough in the Development of a Novel Human Antibody Platform

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:57:00 GMT

Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. (OMT), in collaboration with Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGMO), Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ: SIAL), The Medical College of Wisconsin, and INSERM, today announced the creation of the first targeted knockout rats as detailed in “Knockout Rats Produced via Embryo Microinjection of Designed Zinc Finger Nucleases,” published in the July 24th issue of Science. The creation of rats with permanent, heritable genetic mutations is a critical milestone in the development of OMT’s novel human monoclonal antibody platform.[More...]

Researchers Create First Targeted Knockout Rats Using Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:56:00 GMT

Scientists from The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Sangamo Biosciences, Inc., , Sigma-Aldrich Corporation , Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. and INSERM today announced the creation of the first genetically modified mammals developed using zinc finger nuclease technology.In a paper published in the July 24, 2009 issue of Science, researchers describe the novel application of ZFNs to generate rats with permanent, heritable gene mutations, paving the way for the development of novel genetically modified animal models of human disease. ZFN technology will make the generation of such animals faster and will create new opportunities in species other than mice.'Until now, rat geneticists lacked a viable technique for 'knocking out,' or mutating, specific genes to understand their function,' said Howard Jacob, Ph.D. Director of the Human and Molecular Genetics Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. 'This study demonstrates that ZFN technology bypasses the current need to conduct cumbersome experiments involving nuclear transfer or embryonic stem cells and allows rapid creation of new animal models.'In the study published in Science titled 'Knockout Rats via Embryo Microinjection of Zinc Finger Nucleases,' scientists used ZFNs to knock out an inserted reporter gene and two native rat genes without causing measurable effects on other genes. Importantly, offspring of the ZFN-mutated rats also carried the modifications, demonstrating the genetic changes were permanent and heritable. Together, these results demonstrate the ability to deliver engineered ZFNs into early-stage embryos and rapidly generate heritable, knockout mutations in a whole organism.Rats are physiologically more similar to humans than are mice for many traits and are ideal subjects for modeling human diseases. Extensive genetic characterization has revealed that approximately 90 percent of the rat's 25,000-30,000 estimated genes are analogous to those in humans and mice, and their larger size makes them a superior model for drug-evaluation studies using serial sampling. Generating rats with knockout mutations has been a major challenge, but the new technique will increase the rat's usefulness in research pertaining to physiology, endocrinology, neurology, metabolism, parasitology, growth and development and cancer. Along with his colleagues, Dr. Jacob's team hopes to use knockout rats to gain a better understanding of disease processes related to hypertension, heart disease, kidney failure and cancer.ZFNs are engineered proteins that induce double strand breaks at specific sites in an organism's DNA. Such double-strand breaks stimulate the cell's natural DNA-repair pathways and can result in site-specific changes in the DNA sequence. Previously, ZFNs were used to knock out specific genes in fruit flies, worms, cultured human cells and zebrafish embryos and are now in human clinical trials for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. This is the first example of successful gene editing in mammalian embryos using this technology.'Our ZFN technology is widely applicable across species,' stated Philip Gregory, D.Phil., Sangamo's vice president of research. 'Used in conjunction with standard laboratory techniques, ZFNs provide a powerful solution to the challenge of making gene knockouts in cells and in whole organisms. We believe that this technology will become the method of choice for genome engineering in cells, plants and transgenic animals.'In the first commercial application of this technique, OMT, a private biotechnology company developing a new rat-based human antibody platform, used Sangamo's ZFNs to knock out the gene encoding rat immunoglobulin M , an important gene for rat antibody production. Inactivation of rat IgM expression is the first step in generating rats that exclusively express human antibodies encoded by transgenic human immunoglobulin genes. 'Creating a knockout rat was the biggest challenge OMT faced,' said Dr. Roland Buelow, CEO of OMT and a senior author of the paper. 'Inactivation of endogenous rat antibody expression is essential for human antibody expression in genetically engineered animals. To solve this problem, we used ZFN technology in an application that has the potential to revolutionize genetic engineering of animals.''We have invested our time and resources to develop the CompoZr platform because we see enormous potential in a technology that can precisely manipulate the genome of living organisms,' said Dr. David Smoller, President of Sigma-Aldrich's Research Biotech business unit. 'We are proud to be part of the public-private collaboration developing the proof-of-concept for this technique, which we believe will become the standard for the creation of genetically engineered research animals.'Sigma-Aldrich, the sole source of commercial zinc finger nucleases for the research community, markets Sangamo's ZFN technology through its CompoZr line of products and services. To get more information, please visit http://www.compozrzfn.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 38 countries and has 7,800 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.About Sangamo Biosciences, Inc.: Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. is focused on the research and development of novel DNA-binding proteins for therapeutic gene regulation and modification. The most advanced ZFP Therapeutic development program is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for evaluation of safety and clinical effect in patients with diabetic neuropathy and ALS. Sangamo also has a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate safety and clinical effect of a ZFP Therapeutic for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Other therapeutic development programs are focused on cancer, neuropathic pain, nerve regeneration, Parkinson's disease and monogenic diseases. Sangamo's core competencies enable the engineering of a class of DNA-binding proteins known as zinc finger DNA-binding proteins . By engineering ZFPs that recognize a specific DNA sequence Sangamo has created ZFP transcription factors ) that can control gene expression and, consequently, cell function. Sangamo also is developing sequence-specific ZFP Nucleases ) for gene modification. Sangamo has established strategic partnerships with companies in non-therapeutic applications of its technology including Dow AgroSciences, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation and several companies applying its ZFP technology to engineer cell lines for the production of protein pharmaceuticals. For more information about Sangamo, visit the company's web site at www.sangamo.com.About the Medical College of Wisconsin: The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, www.mcw.edu, is a private, freestanding academic institution dedicated to leadership and excellence in advancing the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury through education, discovery, patient care and community engagement. A major national research center and academic medical center, its faculty physicians and scientists direct or collaborate on more than 3,000 research studies, publish over 1,300 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and provide care in virtually every specialty of medicine to approximately 350,000 patients annually. For more information on our transgenic services offering, see http://www.hmgc.mcw.edu/platforms/Transgenic_Core_Facility/. About Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc.: Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. is a private biotechnology company developing a new, fully human monoclonal antibody platform based on transgenic rats. The rat is a widely used laboratory animal with a well characterized immune system, a nearly complete genome sequence, and established transgenesis and hybridoma technologies. OMT's antibody platform is the result of an improved understanding of B-cell development and a novel approach to the inactivation of endogenous antibody expression. The antibody platform is available for all targets, has broad freedom to operate, and uses technology protected by patents. For more information about OMT, contact Roland Buelow at rbuelow@omtinc.net or visit http://www.omtinc.net.About INSERM UMR 643: The INSERM UMR 643 is a French public academic laboratory. Its scientific activity is centered in the analysis of immune responses and in immunointervention strategies in organ transplantation. The rat is an important immunological model, and INSERM routinely generates transgenic rats using DNA or lentiviral vector microinjection. The generation of transgenic rats also is open to the scientific community through an open facility. More information is available at www.ifr26.nantes.inserm.fr/ITERT/transgenese-rat. 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 Sigma-Aldrich's and Sangamo's expectations, goals, beliefs, intentions and the like, which involve assumptions regarding the Companies' operations and conditions in the markets the Companies serve. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors. See the Companies' SEC filings, and in particular, the risk factors described in their Annual Reports on Form 10-K and their most recent report on Form 10-Q. The Companies do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.[More...]

Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq:SIAL) Reports Q2 2009 Diluted EPS of $0.68; YTD Diluted EPS up 1.5% to $1.36. Full Year 2009 Guidance Reaffirmed, With 2009 Diluted EPS Expected to Exceed 2008's $2.65.

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:57:00 GMT

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation , a leading Life Science and High Technology company, reported second quarter 2009 diluted EPS of $0.68 compared to $0.70 in the second quarter of 2008. For the six months ended June 30, 2009, reported diluted EPS was $1.36, a 1.5% increase from the $1.34 reported for the first six months of 2008. Excluding the negative impact of currency, EPS would have been $0.79 and $1.60, a 12.9% and 19.4% increase for the second quarter and first six months of 2009, respectively. A reconciliation of proforma to reported EPS is on page 8. CEO's STATEMENT: Commenting on second quarter 2009 performance and full year 2009 expectations, Chairman, President and CEO Jai Nagarkatti said: 'We are very pleased with our second quarter sales and operating performance in this challenging economic climate. We're also particularly pleased with our ability to improve profitability through continued implementation of our supply chain initiatives and other cost controls to largely offset the challenges of the current market on our sales and profit performance and the currency impact. We're continuing to add new and innovative products and services that we believe will differentiate our Company in the life science and high technology markets we serve.'Nagarkatti continued, 'We've reaffirmed our sales and profit expectations for all of 2009, believing that we can repeat our first half performance for the remainder of the year, even with a continuation of the challenging market conditions. We continued to invest in new products, in sales and marketing initiatives and in facilities that are expected to enable us to achieve above-market rate organic sales growth. And we plan to continue to drive process improvements through our supply chain initiative and manage costs prudently, seeking to drive our diluted EPS above 2008's level.'2009 RESULTS:Reported sales for the second quarter of 2009 were $522 million, an overall decline of 10.1% from the second quarter of 2008 reflecting an 8.4% unfavorable currency impact and a 1.7% decline in organic sales. The organic sales performance in the second quarter compared to the first quarter gain is due in part to the impact of the timing of Easter holidays. For the six months ended June 30, 2009, overall organic sales were largely consistent with the prior year level. Organic sales for the Company's Research business grew 0.5% and 2.0% for the second quarter and first six months of 2009, respectively. Organic sales for SAFC, the Company's specialty fine chemicals business, declined by 7.2% and 6.3% for the second quarter and first six months of 2009, respectively. SAFC total sales in Q2 2009 improved on Q1 2009 levels, but are compared to even stronger sales in Q2 2008 over Q1 2008. Quarterly comparisons and a reconciliation of reported to adjusted sales growth are on page 7.Operating and pretax income margins in the second quarter 2009 of 23.8% of sales and 23.3% of sales, respectively, reflect an increase of 70 basis points from 2008's second quarter. These margins were in line with those achieved in the first quarter of 2009. For the second successive quarter, this performance reflects the proactive steps taken by management that provided benefits from global supply chain activities, lower S,G&A costs and strategic pricing actions to collectively offset the adverse currency impact on earnings for the first half of 2009. Free cash flow for the second quarter of 2009 was $73 million, resulting in free cash provided in the first half of 2009 of $159 million. A reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow is on page 8.Highlights in the second quarter from global sales growth initiatives and profit enhancement activities include:Continued increase in sales through the Company's award winning web site to 45% of worldwide Research-based sales in the second quarter of 2009 from 44% in Q1 2009.An 8% organic increase in research-based sales in the CAPLA countries, exclusive of an unfavorable currency impact of 10% that reduced reported sales by 2% from the prior year. Sales in the Company's focus markets of China, India and Brazil collectively grew by 9% organically in Q2 2009 over the prior year level, with an unfavorable currency impact of 10% resulting in reported sales declining by 1%. A 19% increase in SAFC's booked orders for future delivery at June 30, 2009 from the March 31, 2009 level to a new all time high.$7 million of supply chain benefits, boosting the year-to-date result to $13 million.Additionally, the Company received CIO magazine's 2009 CIO 100 award for its Your Favorite Gene powered by Ingenuity, a dynamic web-based search tool linking gene-based information with our cutting edge products.2009 OUTLOOK: Management reaffirmed its full year 2009 organic sales growth expectation in a low single digit range. This sales growth is expected to result from new product launches and other global sales initiatives. Demand for Sigma-Aldrich's products, particularly from the pharmaceutical and hi-tech industries, is expected to continue to reflect the uncertainty in these markets. Due to the lack of clarity on allocations and timing of stimulus funding by the U.S. government, no benefit of this funding is included in this outlook. Currency is expected to reduce otherwise reportable growth in 2009 by approximately 5% if exchange rates remain at current levels.The negative impact of currency on EPS in 2009 is expected to be in excess of $0.40 if exchange rates remain at current levels. Consistent with its first half performance, the Company expects to offset this currency impact through continuation of its efforts in supply chain optimization and other operational process improvements. Based on these sales expectations, continuation of the cost improvement efforts, lower interest rates, and exchange rates remaining at current levels, we expect to report 2009 diluted EPS slightly above the $2.65 reported for 2008.Consistent with prior guidance, management expects net cash provided by operations to exceed $410 million and capital expenditures of $110 million for 2009, resulting in free cash flow in excess of $300 million for the year. OTHER INFORMATION:Cash Flow and Debt: Cash flow from operations for the first six months of 2009 was $215 million compared to $221 million for 2008. This change reflects a two-day improvement in receivables days outstanding offset by a $23 million tax disbursement due to the timing of international tax payments, a lower level of net income and a small increase in inventory. Capital expenditures increased to $56 million for the six months ended June 30, 2009 from $41 million for the same period of 2008 as the Company expects to spend approximately $110 million for capital in 2009 to expand its biotech capacity in Israel and its manufacturing capacity for viral products and active pharmaceutical ingredients in the U.S. Overall free cash flow of $159 million in the first six months of 2009 was used to repay $100 million in short- term debt and return $60 million to shareholders through share repurchases and a 12% increase in the 2009 quarterly dividend. The Company's debt to capital ratio was reduced to 28.6% at June 30, 2009 from 34.6% at December 31, 2008. The Company has not experienced any problem in placing its short-term debt in the current credit market environment.Share Repurchase: Another 0.4 million shares were acquired in the second quarter of 2009 at an average share price of $44.77. There were 121.8 million shares outstanding at June 30, 2009. The Company has 7.1 million remaining authorized shares for purchase, but the timing and number of shares purchased, if any, depends upon market conditions and other factors.About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Our biochemical and organic chemical 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. We have customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use our products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 38 countries and has 7,800 employees providing excellent service worldwide. We are committed to accelerating our Customers' success through leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit our award winning web site at www.sigma-aldrich.com.Non-GAAP Financial Measures: The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures to supplement its GAAP disclosures. The Company does not, and does not suggest investors should, consider such non-GAAP financial measures in isolation from, or as a substitute for, GAAP financial information. These non-GAAP measures may not be consistent with the presentation by similar companies in the Company's industry. Whenever the Company uses such non-GAAP measures, it provides a reconciliation of such measures to the most closely applicable GAAP measure. See the Supplemental Financial Information on pages 7 and 8 for these reconciliations.With over 60% of sales denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, management uses currency adjusted growth, and believes it is useful to investors, to judge the Company's controllable, local currency performance. Organic sales growth data presented in this release is proforma data and excludes currency impacts. While we are able to report currency impacts after the fact, we are unable to estimate changes that may occur later in 2009 to applicable exchange rates and are thus unable to reconcile the projected non-GAAP, currency adjusted internal growth rates to reported GAAP growth rates for the year 2009. Any significant changes in currency exchange rates would likely have a significant impact on our reported growth rates due to the volume of our sales denominated in foreign currencies.Management reports both GAAP and adjusted sales and income and comparisons to reflect what it believes are ongoing and/or comparable operating results excluding currency impacts. Management excludes this item in judging its historical performance and in assessing its expected future performance. Management also uses free cash flow , a non-GAAP measure, to judge its performance and ability to pursue opportunities that enhance shareholder value. Management believes this non-GAAP information is useful to investors as well. Cautionary Statement: This release contains forward-looking statements relating to future performance, goals, strategic actions and initiatives and similar intentions and beliefs, including the '2009 Outlook on Sales Growth and EPS', 'CEO's Statement' and 'Other Information-Share Repurchase' sections contained above and other statements regarding the Company's expectations, goals, beliefs, intentions and the like regarding future sales, earnings, free cash flow, share repurchases, acquisitions and other matters. These statements involve assumptions regarding Company operations, investments and acquisitions and conditions in the markets the Company serves. Although the Company believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among others, certain economic, political and technological factors. Actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in this news release, due to, but not limited to, such factors as declining global economic conditions, changes in pricing and the competitive environment and the global demand for our products, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, changes in research funding and the success of research and development activities, dependence on uninterrupted manufacturing operations, changes in the regulatory environment in which the Company operates, changes in worldwide tax rates or tax benefits from domestic and international operations, including the matters described in Note 4-Uncertainty in Income Taxes-to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company's Form 10-Q report for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, exposure to litigation, including product liability claims, the ability to maintain adequate quality standards, reliance on third party package delivery services, the impact of acquisitions and success in integrating and obtaining projected results from the acquisitions, other changes in the business environment in which the Company operates, and the outcome of the matters described in Note 13-Contingent Liabilities and Commitments-to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company's Form 10-Q report for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. A further discussion of the Company's risk factors can be found in Item 1A of the Company's Form 10-K report for the year ended December 31, 2008. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. SIGMA-ALDRICH CORPORATION[More...]

SAFC Supply Solutions(R) Announces Raw Materials Line Developed Specifically to Meet Molecular Diagnostics Manufacturing Requirements

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:56:00 GMT

SAFC Supply Solutions, a business segment of SAFC , a member of the Sigma-Aldrich Group , today announced the launch of a diverse product offer designed to meet the demands of the burgeoning molecular diagnostics market and provide single-point access to a broad range of regulatory compliant and custom manufactured raw materials.The new molecular diagnostics offer combines four product groups including molecular grade raw materials tested on key contaminants, Proligo Reagents raw materials, specialty molecular products for PCR and other novel applications and custom synthesized oligonucleotides. All raw materials are focused on meeting the broadest requirements of both traditional IVD manufacturers working in molecular diagnostics and dedicated molecular diagnostics companies.Combining its technical and industrial expertise, SAFC provides security of supply with over 100,000 raw materials, of which 46,000 are produced in-house, and flexibility through customized manufacturing, packaging and analytical services. The Proligo Reagents are produced in SAFC's ISO certified Hamburg, Germany facility with other product groups provided from other global production sites.The initiative will be led by Diagnostics Segment Manager George Crowell, who commented: 'SAFC Supply Solutions provides a strong molecular diagnostics offer for this industry. By including the Company's oligonucleotide custom synthesis capabilities and specialty molecular products, we believe that the breadth of this offer is now unrivalled in our industry. Additionally, we can help mitigate risk in our customers' supply chain as all our products are produced in ISO 9001 certified facilities.'Primary growth areas in the market include blood bank testing, infectious disease testing, cancer identification, susceptibility and therapy monitoring, pharmacogenics and gene/chromosome testing.About SAFC: SAFC is the custom manufacturing and services business unit within Sigma-Aldrich that focuses on high-purity inorganics for high technology applications, cell culture products and services for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, biochemical production and the manufacturing of complex, multi-step organic synthesis of APIs and key intermediates. SAFC has manufacturing facilities around the world dedicated to providing manufacturing services for companies requiring a reliable partner to produce their custom manufactured materials. SAFC has four business segments - SAFC Pharma, SAFC Supply Solutions, SAFC Biosciences, and SAFC Hitech - and had annual sales of over $620 million in 2008. SAFC is a top 10 fine chemical company. For more information about SAFC, visit www.safcglobal.com.About SAFC Supply Solutions: SAFC Supply Solutions offers a complete line of customized products and services to alleviate issues associated with compliance, timely delivery, product reliability, packaging customization, and quality assurance for regulated industries, including pharmaceutical development, diagnostics manufacturing and flavors and fragrances. Our customized sourcing services, with access to more than 100,000 starting materials, combined with expertise in analytical testing, manufacturing, packaging, quality control, and compliance services can speed the development process and lower costs for customers, enabling faster time to market. For further information, visit www.safcsupplysolutions.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 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 38 countries and has 7,800 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.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 Company's expectations, goals, beliefs, intentions and the like, which involve assumptions regarding the Company's operations and conditions in the markets the Company serves. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. SAFC, SAFC Biosciences, SAFC Supply Solutions, SAFC Pharma, SAFC Hitech and Sigma-Aldrich are registered trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Biotechnology L.P. and Sigma-Aldrich Co.[More...]