GIBBSTOWN, N.J., Aug 22, 2008 — As previously announced by its parent company, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, EMD Chemicals Inc. (EMD) announced today that as of September 1, 2008, it will raise the prices of its specialty chemical products by 5 to 15% worldwide.

Due to the sharp increase in the costs of raw materials, energy and logistic services, EMD Chemicals is increasing the prices of the products sold by its Performance & Life Science Chemicals division. The price increases will range between 5 and 15%, depending on the cost factors affecting the specific product group. The price increase applies to the product ranges of the Laboratory Business, Life Science Solutions and Pigments businesses. EMD Chemicals will inform its customers about the changes in the coming days.

The Performance & Life Science Chemicals division produces high-quality industrial and laboratory chemicals for sophisticated applications and serves the global market. The product range includes effect pigments used in the cosmetics, coating, plastics and printing industries and specialty chemicals for use in the laboratory and production. With specialty chemicals from EMD Chemicals, products move successfully from the laboratory to industrial scale production. EMD Chemicals stands for reliable analytical methods in research and quality control laboratories as well as dependable processes in production.

About EMD Chemicals Inc.

EMD Chemicals represents the North American chemical sector of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Along with its sister company, EMD Crop BioScience, it is an international organization with 1,110 employees and revenues of more than $US 370 million, providing specialty chemicals for pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetic, automotive, plastics, electronics, agricultural and other industrial applications and is also engaged in the development, manufacture and distribution of a broad array of research reagents used for life science research. EMD Chemicals is known in the market by its product brands including Iriodin(R), Xirallic(R), Rona(R), Calbiochem(R), Novabiochem(R), and Novagen(R), among others.

About Merck KGaA

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of EUR 7.1 billion in 2007, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by 31,681 employees in 60 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck’s operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.

SOURCE: EMD Chemicals Inc.

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