MilliporeSigma making headway on new membrane production plant
Facility will up capacity and allow for more supply chain diversification
Progress continues on MilliporeSigma’s new $165-million membrane production plant in Darmstadt, Germany, part of an overall $1.2 billion global headquarters investment that Merck KGaA announced last year.
New membrane production plant. (Image courtesy of MilliporeSigma)
The membranes are critical components in Millipore Express aseptic filters that help ensure the sterility of biological drug products.
"This investment increases our membrane manufacturing capacity and allows for more supply chain diversification,” Chris Ross, interim CEO of MilliporeSigma, said as the company held a topping-out program for the new manufacturing facility this week.
Construction began in March and is expected to be completed in 2022, followed by production process validation and commercialization. The new four-story membrane plant will incorporate immersion membrane casting equipment, quality control laboratories and offices, and add about 55 new jobs, according to the company.
Millipore Express membranes manufactured at the new Darmstadt facility will be processed into filters for pharmaceutical production at MilliporeSigma's existing device center in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
The life science business of Germany-based Merck KGaA, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada, has some 22,000 employees and 59 manufacturing sites worldwide with products focused on scientific discovery, biomanufacturing and testing services.
