Sigma Life Science adds 1,400 cell lines to its U.S. portfolio of ECACC products

Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and services business of Sigma-Aldrich® (NASDAQ:SIAL), has announced the addition of 1,400 new European Collection of Cell Culture (ECACC) cell lines to its collection of cell line cultures and services. These cell lines have been fully authenticated and tested free of mycoplasma and can now be delivered within days to customers in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. ECACC is a recognized worldwide expert in the maintenance, cultivation and distribution of authenticated cell lines. The collection of cell lines can be accessed at www.sigma.com/ecacc.

Scientists rely upon these cell lines, which include human, mouse and insect, for cell-based assays that determine the safety and efficacy of drug candidates. Due to high costs and the great amount of time required for research and development, drug developers prefer to use cell-based assays in cell signaling studies, cancer research and other areas in order to correct issues that may arise, as early as possible, in the research cycle.

“This is an exciting development for the research community,” said Dr. Bryan Bolton, Commercial Manager at ECACC. “Sigma Life Science can now provide North American scientists with the benefits of ready access to a complete collection of original ECACC manufactured cell lines, which are fully authenticated using the latest DNA profiling techniques.”

Don Finley, Market Segment Manager of Research Cell Culture at Sigma Life Science, said, “We can now serve the global scientific community with a broader range of more easily available ECACC cell lines. In light of increased interest in cell based research, our plan is to offer an exhaustive collection of high quality cell lines to meet needs of our customers for cell based solutions.”

ECACC is a registered trademark of the Health Protection Agency in the UK. Sigma-Aldrich® is a registered trademark of Sigma-Aldrich Biotechnology L.P. and Sigma-Aldrich Co.