Merck to distribute all Avanti® Polar Lipids products outside of the U.S.A

Merck has announced the signing of an agreement with Avanti^® Polar Lipids to be the exclusive multinational distributor of the USA-based company’s research lipids portfolio outside of the United States.

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will employ its sales, marketing and e-commerce expertise to distribute Avanti^® Polar Lipids research lipid portfolio. The distribution agreement includes all geographies worldwide except for the United States, where Avanti^® Polar Lipids will continue to reach customers via its own channels. Financial details were not disclosed.

"High-quality lipids are an essential component of precision in the laboratory," said Klaus Bischoff, Head of the Research Solutions business area, Life Science at Merck. "Avanti^® Polar Lipids’ research lipids strengthen Merck’s overall Life Science portfolio, giving our customers access to a broad portfolio of the highest purity lipids on the market."

Merck offers a complete portfolio of products and solutions that enable scientific discovery, including life science reagents and kits, lab and specialty chemicals and lab separation and workflow tools.

Avanti^® Polar Lipids is a leading manufacturer and supplier of the highest purity lipids for research and pharmaceutical product development. Through this agreement, customers outside of the United States will have enhanced, on-demand access to the Avanti^® research lipid portfolio through the life science business of Merck’s robust e-commerce platform, SigmaAldrich.com, regional inventory and company sales representatives. Products will be stocked globally for improved availability to customers.

The transition of approximately 2,000 products from the Avanti^® research lipid portfolio to Merck is expected to be completed in early 2018. In the interim, these products will continue to be available through existing Avanti^® Polar Lipids’ channels.

Avanti^® lipidomics products included in this agreement provide a new approach to answer fundamental questions about lipid structure and function and meet the demands of lipid researchers.