EMD Millipore Muse™ Cell Analyzer Wins Prestigious GOOD DESIGN® Award

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EMD Millipore, the Life Science division of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, has received the Good Design 2012 award for its product the Muse™ Cell Analyzer. The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd. present the Museum's annual GOOD DESIGN® Awards Program for the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world. Founded in Chicago in 1950, GOOD DESIGN® is one of the oldest and the world’s most recognized program for design excellence worldwide.

“We set out to produce a flow cytometer that was optimally designed in how scientists would use the instrument within the confines of available lab space-- without comprising on performance and data quality. It is pleasing to see that external organizations, as well as customers, acknowledge this.”

The Muse™ Cell Analyzer system, which was launched in 2012, delivers real-time quantitative assessment of cell health, apoptosis, protein phosphorylation, cell cycle and immunophenotype with greater accuracy and precision than manual hemocytometry or image-based automated analysis. The GOOD DESIGN® jury recognized Muse™ Cell Analyzer for its high design quality within the medical product category.

“It is an honor to be recognized for the innovative design of the Muse™ Cell Analyzer,” said John Sweeney, Head of Life Sciences business at EMD Millipore. "We set out to produce a flow cytometer that was optimally designed in how scientists would use the instrument within the confines of available lab space-- without comprising on performance and data quality. It is pleasing to see that external organizations, as well as customers, acknowledge this."

By providing real-time, multi-dimensional information on cell populations, the Muse™ Cell Analyzer enables faster, more accurate decision-making, more productive workflows, and greater insight into cell health.

The Muse™ system also delivers high-performance cell analysis using patent-pending, miniaturized fluorescent detection and microcapillary technology which occupy one-tenth the space of a typical cytometer. Laser-based fluorescence detection of each cell event can evaluate up to three cellular parameters. As a result, the Muse™ system provides accurate quantitative results compared to imaging-based systems, which only examine up to two parameters, are time-consuming and ultimately provide less quantitative data. The system is capable of analyzing both suspension and adherent cells from two to sixty μm in diameter. Intuitive software and simple touchscreen interface enable rapid set-up and analysis. The system is complemented by all-in-one kits for cell count and viability, apoptosis and cell cycle. They come with all the reagents necessary for proper sample preparation.

For 2012, the Museum received submissions from several thousand of the world’s leading manufacturers and industrial and graphic design firms from around the world representing the most important and critical mass of influential corporations worldwide in the design industry from over 48 countries.

The jury selected over 700 product designs and graphics from over 38 nations worth of the GOOD DESIGN® Award for their design excellence.

Other GOOD DESIGN® 2012 winners in the medical product category include: GE Healthcare, Ltd, Novo Nordisk A/S, and Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH.

About EMD Millipore
EMD Millipore is the Life Science division of Merck KGaA of Germany and offers a broad range of innovative, performance products, services and business relationships that enable our customers' success in research, development and production of biotech and pharmaceutical drug therapies. Through dedicated collaboration on new scientific and engineering insights, and as one of the top three R&D investors in the Life Science Tools industry, EMD Millipore serves as a strategic partner to customers and helps advance the promise of life science.

Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, the division has around 10,000 employees, operations in 67 countries and 2011 revenues of EUR 2.4 billion. EMD Millipore is known as Merck Millipore outside of the U.S. and Canada.

Note: Merck KGaA or Merck shall mean Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

About Merck
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Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of € 10.3 billion in 2011, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by more than 40,000 employees in 67 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.