SAFC Acquires Drug Delivery Company

SAFC, the fine chemicals business of Sigma-Aldrich, has acquired Molecular Medicine BioServices, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based producer of viruses used to deliver DNA, RNA, and other biopharmaceutical drugs. "The acquisition of MMB continues our push into niche biologics," says SAFC President Frank Wicks. He says the ability to manufacture viruses complements SAFC's transgenic extraction and purification operation in St. Louis and a bacterial fermentation facility under construction in Israel. According to Wicks, SAFC had considered building its own virus plant in St. Louis. MMB, founded in 1997, employs 60 people and has annual sales of about $12 million.