SigmaAldrich

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, commonly known as Sigma-Aldrich, was an American supplier of chemicals, reagents, and laboratory equipment for scientific research and industrial use. The company offered solvents, fine chemicals, biological materials, analytical standards, and related products, distributed through brands such as Sigma, Aldrich, Fluka, and Supelco. It served universities, pharmaceutical companies, government laboratories, and contract research organizations.

The company traces its origins to 1975, formed by the merger of Sigma Chemical Company of St. Louis, Missouri, and Aldrich Chemical Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over the following decades, Sigma-Aldrich expanded through acquisitions and international growth, building a broad portfolio of reagents, chromatography products, and life-science tools.

In 2015, Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, acquired Sigma-Aldrich for about $17 billion, integrating it into its Life Science business. The acquisition significantly expanded Merck’s offerings in reagents, lab materials, and analytical products. In North America, the combined brand is marketed under MilliporeSigma; globally, the former Sigma-Aldrich portfolio is distributed under Merck KGaA’s life-science brands.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Sigma-Aldrich operated manufacturing and distribution facilities worldwide and supported research from academic laboratories to industrial production. The Sigma-Aldrich identity persists today as a product lineage within MilliporeSigma, a division of Merck KGaA.