Pleasanton, CA 12/1/16; Billerica, MA 12/1/16—Merck KGaA will take over distribution of Roche’s Kapa Biosystems qPCR and endpoint PCR products worldwide with the exception of the US, Japan and Brazil. The agreement excludes Kapa’s NGS products. “These enzymes represent a significant advantage over commercially available DNA polymerases and thus offer the potential for entirely new PCR applications,” stated Udit Batra, member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO of its Life Science business. The transition is expected to be completed by January 1, 2017.

The agreement is an expansion of Merck (previously Sigma-Aldrich) and Roche’s 2015 agreement for distribution of Roche’s Biochemical Reagents (see IBO 3/31/15). The agreement adds to Merck Life Sciences’ PCR offerings and signals Roche’s further retreat from distribution of non-NGS research products.