MilliporeSigma Announces Opening of BioReliance® Testing Facility in Darmstadt, Germany to Support Drug Product Release in Europe
Burlington, Massachusetts, July 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
- New 2,000-square-meter facility expands the company’s global testing network with commercial drug substance and drug product release testing and GMP-compliant stability studies
- Strategic location near major clinical trial hubs strengthens support for biopharmaceutical companies bringing therapies to European markets
- Darmstadt site joins the company’s global BioReliance® testing network, enhancing end-to-end analytical and biosafety testing services
MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, today announced the opening of a new €25 million BioReliance® testing facility at the company’s global headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany. The facility expands access to commercial drug substance and drug product release testing as well as stability testing for biopharmaceutical companies developing and commercializing therapies in Europe.
“As demand for biologics and novel therapies continues to grow, our customers need reliable, compliant testing capabilities closer to where their products are developed and commercialized,” said Paolo Carli, Head of Advanced Solutions for the Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. “Our new testing facility combines best-in-class analytical characterization services with more than 75 years of BioReliance® expertise to help our European customers move critical therapies toward patients with greater speed and confidence.”
The 2,000-square-meter facility is designed to help customers meet European requirements for in-region drug substance and drug product release testing and expands the company’s ability to support customers from drug development through commercialization. The site will also offer Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant stability studies for monoclonal antibodies and cell therapies, addressing the growing demand for biologics testing across Europe. The facility will employ a growing team with headcount projected to expand significantly over the next few years to support client demand.
Located close to major clinical trial sites in Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy, the Darmstadt facility is strategically positioned to support biopharmaceutical companies seeking to release drug products into European markets. By adding these capabilities in the heart of Europe, the company is strengthening its support for customers managing increasingly complex development, quality and regulatory requirements.
The company’s BioReliance® sites form a global testing network that allows customers to scale across geographies and work with the company across continents – backed by consistent quality standards. The BioReliance® portfolio draws on more than 75 years of expertise with one of the broadest biosafety testing and analytical development service offerings in the industry, covering both traditional and novel modalities. Among the company’s leading technologies is the Blazar® platform, which is shifting the biosafety testing paradigm from traditional methods to rapid molecular approaches and significantly reducing testing timelines for virus detection. The Aptegra® CHO genetic stability testing streamlines a previously complex and time-intensive process into a single assay. As novel modalities continue to reshape drug development, MilliporeSigma continues to invest in the platforms, infrastructure and expertise needed to help customers bring the next generation of therapies to patients.
The opening of the Darmstadt facility is one of several significant investments the company has made to grow its global contract testing footprint. In 2024, the company opened a €290 million biosafety testing facility in Rockville, Maryland, USA and expanded biosafety testing capacity by 40% across its Glasgow and Stirling sites through a €22 million investment. The new BioReliance® facility also reflects the company’s continued commitment to its global headquarters in Darmstadt, where the company has invested approximately €2.5 billion since 2015.
About the Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada, has more than 27,000 employees and more than 55 total manufacturing and testing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products focused on scientific discovery, biomanufacturing and testing services. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and electronics.
More than 62,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2025, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of € 21.1 billion in 65 countries.
The company holds the global rights to the name and trademark “Merck” internationally. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, operate as MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare and EMD Electronics in electronics. Since its founding in 1668, scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to the company’s technological and scientific advances. To this day, the founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. For more information about Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, visit www.emdgroup.com.
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Tyler Gagnon MilliporeSigma +1 339 999 7111 tyler.gagnon@milliporesigma.com
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