Merck announces acquisition of SeQuant Merck KGaA today announced that it has successfully acquired SeQuant AB in Umeå, Sweden. The acquisition of the company, which was founded in 1997, is a strategically important step for the growth of Merck’s chromatography business. SeQuant focuses on the development of silica-gel or polymer-based sorbents for “zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction chromatography”, or ZIC®-HILIC, and ion chromatography. Merck is one of the leading suppliers in liquid chromatography and has been developing products and technologies for chromatography for more than 100 years. “We are pleased to have made this acquisition. It offers Merck superb opportunities for the future expansion of the chromatography business,” said Klaus Bischoff, Head of the Performance & Life Science Chemicals division at Merck. “By acquiring SeQuant, we are gaining access to a unique technology in the rapidly growing HILIC application segment for analytical and preparative purposes. This technology will enable us to develop and commercialize innovative products that meet the needs of our customers,” Bischoff explained. SeQuant will become a company of the Merck Group effective February 29, 2008. The former activities of SeQuant will be integrated into the Performance & Life Science Chemicals division of Merck. The previous site in Umeå, Sweden, will be retained and the company will be renamed Merck SeQuant AB. Merck will take over all employees of SeQuant. “SeQuant is pleased to be joining forces with Merck,” explained Einar Ponten, former CEO of SeQuant and future Managing Director of Merck SeQuant. “Owing to Merck’s leading position in developing, manufacturing and marketing chromatography products, we can drive the availability of ZIC®-HILIC products for our customers.” What is ZIC®-HILIC technology? The silica gel or polymer-based sorbents are used to separate a broad range of polar chemical compounds, for example inorganic or organic ions as well as organic polar chemical compounds, including peptides. The use of ZIC®-HILIC technology markedly improves the separation of these chemical compounds. Numerous users consider ZIC®-HILIC technology to be the gold standard in hydrophilic interaction chromatography. SeQuant currently markets nine ZIC®-HILIC product lines.