Millipore Corporation
Encyclopedia
EMD Millipore, also known as Merck Millipore outside the United States and Canada, was founded in 1954, listed among the S&P 500
since the early 1990s, is an international bioscience
s company, known widely for its micrometer
pore-size filters and tests. Millipore is organized into the Bioprocess division which makes filters and equipment used during the production of biologics
, and the Bioscience division which makes products for customer laboratories.
This new company pioneered the use of membrane technology in hundreds of applications. Through strategic acquisitions, substantial R&D investments, and international expansion, Millipore broadened its technology and market base to become a leader in the Life Science industry.
In the early 1950s Lovell Corporation won a contract from the U.S. Army Chemical Engineers to develop and manufacture membrane filtering devices and systems used to separate the molecular components of fluid samples.
When the membranes were declassified in 1953 and offered for commercial use, Jack Bush, a Lovell employee, bought the company’s right to the technology for $200,000 and established the Millipore Filter Company which later changed its name to Millipore Corporation to reflect its growing range of products.
ester
s or other materials which resembled paper in sheet form, and were brittle when dry but friable when wet.
Millipore's cellulose ester filters were used widely in early experiments to regenerate
transect
ed nerve
s in the peripheral nervous system
, especially in experiments of sciatic nerve
transection in rodents. Today, the Millipore filters consist of nitrocellulose
or polycarbonate
membrane
nucleopore filter
s ranging from pore
size of 0.2 μm (micrometer
) up to 20 µm. The smallest of these are sometimes also measured in pore width of 200 nm (nanometer). And some specialty applications are even measured in the picometer range (pm) of pore-size.
By 1970, Millipore had established subsidiaries in seven countries. To meet growing worldwide demand for its products, the company opened manufacturing plants in Jaffrey, New Hampshire
; Molsheim
, France; Cork
, Ireland; and several other locations.
Millipore has continually expanded its core capabilities through strategic acquisitions, targeted capital investments, and organic growth.
Millipore’s 2006 acquisition of Serologicals Corporation gave the company leading positions in high-growth markets such as drug discovery products and services, antibodies, cell biology reagents, and stem cell research.
Millipore is now the only company providing both upstream cell culture and downstream separations offerings for biopharmaceutical production.
, exchange where it had paid a cash dividend
to shareholders every year since 1966.
In 1969, Waters Corporation
founder James Logan Waters asked Dimitri D'Arbeloff, then president of Millipore Corporation, to join Waters Corporation's board of directors in order to help steer the Waters company back to profitability. Millipore's venture capital subsidiary then also made a US$600,000 equity investment in Waters Corp.
Millipore also developed the Millipore chamber, or more formally known as the Millipore Diffusion chamber, a round-shaped chamber widely used for in-vivo research, sealed at each end with a cell-impenetrable cellulose filter, which permits the growth of transplanted cells or tissue, while allowing nutrients through.
Through the long bear market of the 1970s, Millipore's stock rose over fourfold to its peak in 1985. Earnings were rapidly growing through the early 1980s, and had nearly tripled by then to over US$30 million.
In 1986, the stock split two-for-one, and in 1987 it again doubled from its 1985 peak, as the P/E ratio
continued to expand into the mid 20s range. By year end 1987 earnings had grown to nearly US$45 million. Also in 1987 Millipore Corporation moved from the NASDAQ exchange to the New York Stock Exchange
, where it traded under the new ticker symbol MIL.
Coming out of the 1990-1991 recession, Millipore Corporation's earnings suffered between 1992 and 1993, dropping again to as low as US$30 million that second year. But by 1995, they had more than recovered, nearly tripling from that low to almost US$85 million. However, the company had accumulated US$105 million in long-term debt by then as well.
By the mid 1990s Millipore Corporation had been added to the S&P 500
list of the biggest publicly-traded companies in the United States. In 1995 the stock split again two-for-one, and by early 1996 it had doubled again in price from the 1987 peak.
In late October, 2005, Millipore acquired NovAseptic for US$91 million, a Swedish company specialising in aseptic processing equipment for making pharmaceutical and biologic drugs. Earlier in the week it had bought MicroSafe for US$9.3 million, a Netherlands microbiological testing company.
In 2005, Millipore posted revenues of US$991 million. , it had 5,800 employees, and offices and subsidiaries in 32 countries.
In early 2010, Merck KGaA
agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Millipore's common stock, including net debt. The deal is valued at approximately EUR 5.3 billion (US$ 7.2 billion). Merck KGaA is not associated with Merck & Co.
, although the two companies stem from the same parent company.
early novel, The Andromeda Strain
, millipore filters of varying pore sizes are used in the laboratory to determine the size of a microorganism.
In Jurassic Park, the later novel by the same author, the material used to make synthetic dinosaur eggshells was called "millipore".
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
since the early 1990s, is an international bioscience
BioScience
BioScience is a peer-reviewed monthly sometimes daily scientific journal that is published by the American Institute of Biological Sciences . The content is written and edited for accessibility to researchers, educators, and students alike...
s company, known widely for its micrometer
Micrometre
A micrometer , is by definition 1×10-6 of a meter .In plain English, it means one-millionth of a meter . Its unit symbol in the International System of Units is μm...
pore-size filters and tests. Millipore is organized into the Bioprocess division which makes filters and equipment used during the production of biologics
Biologics
A biologic is a medicinal product such as a vaccine, blood or blood component, allergenic, somatic cell, gene therapy, tissue, recombinant therapeutic protein, or living cells that are used as therapeutics to treat diseases...
, and the Bioscience division which makes products for customer laboratories.
Formation
In 1954 Jack Bush started a filtration company that would grow from a handful of employees to a multinational Life Science corporation with 6,000 employees and annual sales of $1.53 billion by 2007.This new company pioneered the use of membrane technology in hundreds of applications. Through strategic acquisitions, substantial R&D investments, and international expansion, Millipore broadened its technology and market base to become a leader in the Life Science industry.
In the early 1950s Lovell Corporation won a contract from the U.S. Army Chemical Engineers to develop and manufacture membrane filtering devices and systems used to separate the molecular components of fluid samples.
When the membranes were declassified in 1953 and offered for commercial use, Jack Bush, a Lovell employee, bought the company’s right to the technology for $200,000 and established the Millipore Filter Company which later changed its name to Millipore Corporation to reflect its growing range of products.
Filters
By 1959, Millipore made porous membrane filters of celluloseCellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....
ester
Ester
Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH group is replaced by an -O-alkyl group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and...
s or other materials which resembled paper in sheet form, and were brittle when dry but friable when wet.
Millipore's cellulose ester filters were used widely in early experiments to regenerate
Regeneration (biology)
In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. At its most...
transect
Transect
A transect is a path along which one records and counts occurrences of the phenomena of study .It requires an observer to move along a fixed path and to count occurrences along the path and, at the same time, obtain the distance of the object from the path...
ed nerve
Nerve
A peripheral nerve, or simply nerve, is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of peripheral axons . A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons. Nerves are found only in the peripheral nervous system...
s in the peripheral nervous system
Peripheral nervous system
The peripheral nervous system consists of the nerves and ganglia outside of the brain and spinal cord. The main function of the PNS is to connect the central nervous system to the limbs and organs. Unlike the CNS, the PNS is not protected by the bone of spine and skull, or by the blood–brain...
, especially in experiments of sciatic nerve
Sciatic nerve
The sciatic nerve is a large nerve fiber in humans and other animals. It begins in the lower back and runs through the buttock and down the lower limb...
transection in rodents. Today, the Millipore filters consist of nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent. When used as a propellant or low-order explosive, it is also known as guncotton...
or polycarbonate
Polycarbonate
PolycarbonatePhysical PropertiesDensity 1.20–1.22 g/cm3Abbe number 34.0Refractive index 1.584–1.586FlammabilityV0-V2Limiting oxygen index25–27%Water absorption – Equilibrium0.16–0.35%Water absorption – over 24 hours0.1%...
membrane
Membrane (selective barrier)
A membrane is a layer of material which serves as a selective barrier between two phases and remains impermeable to specific particles, molecules, or substances when exposed to the action of a driving force...
nucleopore filter
Nucleopore filter
A nuclepore filter is a kind of filter in which holes a few micrometres in size have been created in a plastic membrane. These filters are generally created by exposing the membrane to radiation that weakens the plastic and creates specific areas that can be removed by dousing the membrane in acid...
s ranging from pore
Porosity
Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0–1, or as a percentage between 0–100%...
size of 0.2 μm (micrometer
Micrometre
A micrometer , is by definition 1×10-6 of a meter .In plain English, it means one-millionth of a meter . Its unit symbol in the International System of Units is μm...
) up to 20 µm. The smallest of these are sometimes also measured in pore width of 200 nm (nanometer). And some specialty applications are even measured in the picometer range (pm) of pore-size.
Growth
Millipore aggressively pursued new markets around the world, as the demand for separations technologies grew among researchers, medical schools and hospitals, as well as in the pharmaceutical, chemical, plastics, food-and-beverage, and microelectronics industries.By 1970, Millipore had established subsidiaries in seven countries. To meet growing worldwide demand for its products, the company opened manufacturing plants in Jaffrey, New Hampshire
Jaffrey, New Hampshire
Jaffrey is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,457 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 2,757 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Jaffrey census-designated place and is located along the Contoocook River at the...
; Molsheim
Molsheim
Molsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. The total population in 2006 was 9,382. Molsheim had been a very fast growing city between the French censuses of 1968 and 1999, passing from 5,739 to 9,331 inhabitants, but this increase came to a noticeable halt...
, France; Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Ireland; and several other locations.
Millipore has continually expanded its core capabilities through strategic acquisitions, targeted capital investments, and organic growth.
Millipore’s 2006 acquisition of Serologicals Corporation gave the company leading positions in high-growth markets such as drug discovery products and services, antibodies, cell biology reagents, and stem cell research.
Millipore is now the only company providing both upstream cell culture and downstream separations offerings for biopharmaceutical production.
Milestones
Over the past 50 years, Millipore has introduced thousands of new products, expanded its operations around the world, acquired and divested numerous businesses, and reinvented itself several times to keep pace with evolving customer needs. Here are some of the key milestones representative of Millipore’s changes and growth over the past five decades.1950s
- 1954: Jack Bush purchases the rights to a new membrane-production process developed by Lovell Chemical Company.
- 1954: Millipore Filter Corporation is officially incorporated.
- 1954: Jack Bush becomes president (and later chairman) of Millipore. Jack is the son of Vannevar Bush, science advisor to President Roosevelt in World War II.
- 1955: Millipore receives its first patent -- for microporous nylon film invented by Stanley Lovell and Jack Bush.
1960s
- 1964: Millipore establishes its first subsidiary, in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - 1967: Millipore introduces the Super-Q water purification system.
- 1967: Millipore establishes a subsidiary in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. - 1968: Millipore establishes a subsidiary in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. - 1968: Millipore introduces its Pellicon cassette product, for purifying biotherapeutics.
1970s
- 1971: Millipore introduces the original Millex syringe filter -- the first disposable syringe filter.
- 1972: Millipore establishes a subsidiary in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. - 1972: Millipore opens a manufacturing plant in Jaffrey, New HampshireJaffrey, New HampshireJaffrey is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,457 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 2,757 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Jaffrey census-designated place and is located along the Contoocook River at the...
. - 1973: Millipore starts manufacturing in MolsheimMolsheimMolsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. The total population in 2006 was 9,382. Molsheim had been a very fast growing city between the French censuses of 1968 and 1999, passing from 5,739 to 9,331 inhabitants, but this increase came to a noticeable halt...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - 1973: Millipore introduces the Milli-QMilli-QMilli-Q is a trademark created by Millipore Corporation to describe 'ultrapure' water of "Type 1", as defined by various authories , as well as their devices for producing such water. The purification processes involve successive steps of filtration and deionisation, to achieve a purity...
water purification system, the world’s first lab-scale ultra pure water system. - 1978: Millipore reaches the $100 million revenue milestone.
- 1978: Millipore opens a manufacturing plant in Danvers, MassachusettsDanvers, MassachusettsDanvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, Danvers is most widely known for its association with the 1692 Salem witch trials, and for its famous asylum, the Danvers State Hospital.-17th century:The land...
. - 1979: Millipore acquires Waters Associates Inc., a producer of chromatographic media and HPLC instrumentation.
1980s
- 1980: Millipore introduces its low-protein binding Durapore membrane.
- 1987: Millipore is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 1987: Millipore reaches the $500 million revenue milestone.
- 1988: Millipore opens a manufacturing plant in Cork, Ireland.
1990s
- 1994: Millipore divests its Waters Chromatography Division and focuses on its membrane business.
- 1996: Millipore acquires the Amicon separation sciences business from W.R. Grace and Co.
- 1997: Millipore acquires Tylan General, expanding its gas purification offerings for the microelectronics industry.
- 1999: Millipore acquires Bioprocessing Limited, a developer and manufacturer of chromatography.
2000s
- 2002: Millipore opens its Biopharmaceutical Technology Center in Billerica, MassachusettsBillerica, MassachusettsBillerica is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,243 at the 2010 census. It is the only town named Billerica in the United States and borrows its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England.- History :...
– an innovative, customer-focused facility. - 2005: Millipore acquires MicroSafe, a European contract testing laboratory.
- 2005: Millipore acquires NovAseptic, a worldwide supplier of aseptically designed components for biotech and pharmaceutical production.
- 2005: Millipore forms an alliance with Gen-Probe to develop, manufacture and commercialize products for rapid microbiological and virus monitoring.
- 2006: Millipore acquires Newport Bio Systems, a maker of process containers and systems used in biopharmaceutical production.
- 2006: Millipore acquires Serologicals Corporation (which includes the companies Chemicon, Upstate, Linco, and Celliance), expanding its drug discovery and development footprint.
- 2006: Millipore opens a new Research and Development Center in Bedford, MassachusettsBedford, MassachusettsBedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is within the Greater Boston area, north-west of the city of Boston. The population of Bedford was 13,320 at the 2010 census.- History :...
. - 2007: Millipore launches its new brand, signifying the company’s transformation as a Life Science leader.
- 2008: Millipore unveils a major expansion of its Drug Discovery and Development facility in St. Charles, Missouri.
- 2008: Millipore opens a new membrane casting manufacturing facility in CarrigtwohillCarrigtwohillCarrigtwohill, officially Carrigtohill , is a village in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland with a population of 4,869 . It is located east of Cork city, bypassed by the N25 road and is part of Metropolitan Cork. Carrigtwohill is one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland. It is a major...
, County Cork, Ireland. - 2009: Millipore acquires Guava Technologies, a leading provider of bench top cell analysis systems.
- 2009: Millipore opens state-of-the-art Biomanufacturing Sciences and Training Center in SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. - 2009: Millipore acquires BioAnaLab, a European-based firm specializing in the analysis of biologic drugs and vaccines.
- 2010: Merck acquires Millipore. In future, Millipore will be part of the EMD Group.
Financial history
Millipore Corporation had been publicly-traded on the OTC, or NASDAQNASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
, exchange where it had paid a cash dividend
Dividend
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be distributed to...
to shareholders every year since 1966.
In 1969, Waters Corporation
Waters Corporation
Waters Corporation is a publicly traded laboratory analytical instrument and software company headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts. The company employs more than 5,000 people, with manufacturing facilities located in Milford, Taunton, Massachusetts; Wexford, Ireland; Manchester, England; and...
founder James Logan Waters asked Dimitri D'Arbeloff, then president of Millipore Corporation, to join Waters Corporation's board of directors in order to help steer the Waters company back to profitability. Millipore's venture capital subsidiary then also made a US$600,000 equity investment in Waters Corp.
Millipore also developed the Millipore chamber, or more formally known as the Millipore Diffusion chamber, a round-shaped chamber widely used for in-vivo research, sealed at each end with a cell-impenetrable cellulose filter, which permits the growth of transplanted cells or tissue, while allowing nutrients through.
Through the long bear market of the 1970s, Millipore's stock rose over fourfold to its peak in 1985. Earnings were rapidly growing through the early 1980s, and had nearly tripled by then to over US$30 million.
In 1986, the stock split two-for-one, and in 1987 it again doubled from its 1985 peak, as the P/E ratio
P/E ratio
The P/E ratio of a stock is a measure of the price paid for a share relative to the annual net income or profit earned by the firm per share...
continued to expand into the mid 20s range. By year end 1987 earnings had grown to nearly US$45 million. Also in 1987 Millipore Corporation moved from the NASDAQ exchange to the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
, where it traded under the new ticker symbol MIL.
Coming out of the 1990-1991 recession, Millipore Corporation's earnings suffered between 1992 and 1993, dropping again to as low as US$30 million that second year. But by 1995, they had more than recovered, nearly tripling from that low to almost US$85 million. However, the company had accumulated US$105 million in long-term debt by then as well.
By the mid 1990s Millipore Corporation had been added to the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
list of the biggest publicly-traded companies in the United States. In 1995 the stock split again two-for-one, and by early 1996 it had doubled again in price from the 1987 peak.
In late October, 2005, Millipore acquired NovAseptic for US$91 million, a Swedish company specialising in aseptic processing equipment for making pharmaceutical and biologic drugs. Earlier in the week it had bought MicroSafe for US$9.3 million, a Netherlands microbiological testing company.
In 2005, Millipore posted revenues of US$991 million. , it had 5,800 employees, and offices and subsidiaries in 32 countries.
In early 2010, Merck KGaA
Merck KGaA
Merck KGaA is a German chemical and pharmaceutical company. Merck, also known as “German Merck” and “Merck Darmstadt”, was founded in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1668, making it the world's oldest operating chemical and pharmaceutical company. The company was privately owned until going public in 1995...
agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Millipore's common stock, including net debt. The deal is valued at approximately EUR 5.3 billion (US$ 7.2 billion). Merck KGaA is not associated with Merck & Co.
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
, although the two companies stem from the same parent company.
In fiction
In Michael Crichton'sMichael Crichton
John Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
early novel, The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain , by Michael Crichton, is a techno-thriller novel documenting the efforts of a team of scientists investigating a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism that rapidly and fatally clots human blood, while in other people inducing insanity...
, millipore filters of varying pore sizes are used in the laboratory to determine the size of a microorganism.
In Jurassic Park, the later novel by the same author, the material used to make synthetic dinosaur eggshells was called "millipore".