Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and services business of Sigma-Aldrich^® (Nasdaq:SIAL), and The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), a not-for-profit genetics research institution and the world's premier repository for genetically engineered mice, today announced a joint agreement allowing JAX to distribute mouse models created using Sigma Life Science's proprietary zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology.  

ZFN technology allows transgenic mice to be made in a third of the time previously required and has led to a significant increase in the number of models being produced, generating a need for key distributors to provide access to this new set of animals. As the leader in mouse genetics, JAX currently has over 5,000 mouse models available to the scientific community, and this arrangement is expected to extend the collection by enabling researchers to donate ZFN-enabled mouse models to JAX for archiving and distribution.  

"Sigma recognizes the need for making certain animal models created with this great technology commercially available, enabling researchers to promote the science while protecting our intellectual property," said Dr. Edward Weinstein, Director of SAGE Labs at Sigma Life Science. "This agreement helps to make that possible, exemplifying the Sigma Life Science message ‘where bio begins' and building on the activities of our SAGE Labs division." 

The agreement is also expected to enable customers to focus more time and resources on their research, avoiding the burden of maintaining mouse colonies for the wider scientific community while still fulfilling government funding obligations. It also increases the scope of the powerful CompoZr technology for creation of knockout organisms, and complements the SAGE^TM Labs collection of knockout rat models.  

"The Jackson Laboratory is pleased to be able to distribute mice created using the ZFN technology to the research community worldwide," added Dr. Michael V. Wiles, Senior Director of Technology Evaluation and Development at The Jackson Laboratory. "This novel approach represents a quantum leap in genetic engineering and is expected to enable researchers to develop precise mouse models without the need of ES cells, and to advance the understanding of human disease and improve the human condition."  

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About Sigma Life Science: Sigma Life Science is a Sigma-Aldrich business that represents the Company's leadership in innovative biological products and services for the global life science market and offers an array of biologically-rich products and reagents that researchers use in scientific investigation. Product areas include biomolecules, genomics and functional genomics, cells and cell-based assays, transgenics, protein assays, stem cell research, epigenetics and custom services/oligonucleotides. Sigma Life Science also provides an extensive range critical bioessentials like biochemicals, antibiotics, buffers, carbohydrates, enzymes, forensic tools, hematology and histology, nucleotides, amino acids and their derivatives, and cell culture media. For more information about Sigma Life Science, please visit our Web sites at Where Bio Begins and Sigma Life Science. 

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company committed to Enabling Science to Improve the Quality of Life. Its chemical and biochemical 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 40 countries and has 7,600 employees providing excellent service worldwide. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning Web site at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com 

About The Jackson Laboratory: The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with more than 1,300 employees in Bar Harbor, Maine, and Sacramento, Calif. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community. The Laboratory is also the world's resource for more than 5,000 strains of genetically defined mice, home of the mouse genome database and an international hub for scientific courses, conferences, training and education. For more information about The Jackson Laboratory, please visit www.jax.org 

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