Eurofins Expands Presence in Discovery Pharmacology and Bioanalysis by Acquiring the Discovery and Development Solutions Business of Merck KGaA

Eurofins Scientific (EUFI.PA), the world leader in providing analytical support to the pharmaceutical industry, announces the signing of an agreement to acquire the assets of the Discovery and Development Solutions (DDS) business of Merck Millipore (EMD Millipore in the United States and Canada), the Life Science division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

DDS is a leading provider of bioanalytical testing and early stage discovery services and products to the biopharmaceutical market and generates revenues of about USD 35m with ca. 175 employees from its three sites in St. Charles (Missouri), Dundee (Scotland) and Oxford (England). For over 35 years, DDS has built a reputation for high-quality service and reliability while delivering the most up-to-date drug target assays and bioanalytical services to match emerging testing needs in the pharmaceutical industry.

In addition to its renowned discovery pharmacology expertise, DDS provides industry-leading expertise in bioanalytical testing to support clinical trials. The acquisition of DDS strengthens Eurofins' leading presence in the early stage discovery solutions market while adding the most advanced expertise in high-quality bioanalytical services.  After the transaction, DDS will continue to provide products and services to Merck KGaA's pharma business.

As part of the agreement, Eurofins will retain DDS' highly-qualified workforce and leadership, and the business will continue to be led by Christina Shasserre, who has more than ten years' experience in the laboratory services market and has been heading the DDS business since 2010. Ms. Shasserre will be President of Eurofins Pharma BioAnalytical Services, as the company will be known following the closing.  The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions, which the parties expect to complete within 90 days.

Comment from Dr. Gilles Martin, Eurofins CEO:  "The addition of DDS into the Eurofins network reinforces our leading position in the discovery pharmacology market, and expands our large molecules bioanalytical service capability to meet the growing needs of our pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical clients. The transaction reflects Eurofins' commitment to provide the best laboratory services and client support to its customers, and the highest level of analytical testing technology available in the industry."

For more information, please visit www.eurofinsus.com or contact:

Notes for the editor:

Eurofins - a global leader in bio-analysis

Eurofins Scientific is the world leader in food and pharmaceutical products testing. It is also number one in the world in the field of environmental laboratory services and one of the global market leaders in agroscience, genomics and central laboratory services.

With over 15,000 staff in more than 190 laboratories across 37 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 100,000 reliable analytical methods for evaluating the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin and purity of biological substances and products. The Group provides its customers with high-quality services, accurate results on time and expert advice by its highly qualified staff.

Eurofins is committed to pursuing its dynamic growth strategy by expanding both its technology portfolio and its geographic reach. Through R&D and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in the field of biotechnology and analytical chemistry to offer its clients unique analytical solutions and the most comprehensive range of testing methods.

As one of the most innovative and quality oriented international players in its industry, Eurofins is ideally positioned to support its clients' increasingly stringent quality and safety standards and the expanding demands of regulatory authorities around the world.

The shares of Eurofins Scientific are listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN FR0000038259, Reuters EUFI.PA, Bloomberg ERF FP).