ATMI, Inc. and Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A. (SSB) announced that they have extended their marketing and distribution alliance by adding new technologies. The new agreement grants global marketing and distribution rights to ATMI's patented Magnetic Mixer technology to Sartorius Stedim Biotech.

ATMI's Magnetic Mixer is a mobile, flexible mixing system designed for aggressive mixing applications in a wide range of volumes. It is ideal for biopharmaceutical processes that require powerful mixing torque, such as buffer preparation, media preparation, and final product formulation applications.

Under the extended agreement, Sartorius Stedim Biotech also retains continued distribution and marketing rights to ATMI LifeSciences' LevMixer mixing system technology, which SSB has been marketing since April 2008. The LevMixer system is a single-use mixing system which uses patented technology to levitate and drive a single-use impeller inside sterile bags. It is mainly used for liquid-to-liquid applications in downstream purification and sensitive formulation steps, as well as easy-to-dissolve powders, such as salts and buffers.

In addition, the expanded agreement grants SSB rights to ATMI's portfolio of bioreactor-related intellectual property, which allows SSB to further enable its line of BIOSTAT CultiBag STR Single Use bioreactors.

The supply and marketing agreement is a five-year, global agreement containing an additional five-year continuity of supply clause.

"With this agreement, we continue to assure the market and our customers of a strong commitment to innovation, continuity of supply and delivery of leading-edge, single-use technologies," said Mario Philips, senior vice president and general manager of ATMI LifeSciences. "We are pleased to continue to expand our partnership with SSB, which we consider to be of tremendous importance to our global customers pursuing single-use solutions that enable bioprocess efficiencies."

"Following our successful cooperation over the past couple of years, we are now strengthening our alliance to include new technologies," stated Jean-Marc Cappia, the vice president of marketing, Fluid Management Technologies at SSB. "This long-term agreement allows us to continue to expand our offerings and expertise in single-use mixing technologies and broadly deliver solutions for all unit operations in a fast-growing biopharmaceutical market, while also delivering breakthrough bioreactor technology for our new product pipeline."

In all, the agreement further strengthens the relationship between the companies and illustrates their commitment to delivering technologies and products that drive bioprocess efficiencies for a customer base looking more and more to single-use solutions.

ATMI's industry-leading technologies have helped to drive industry-wide the awareness, acceptance and growth of single-use bioprocessing technologies. With innovation that includes advancements in vessel and sparger design, mixing techniques, friction-reducing approaches and superior clean-film manufacturing, ATMI is helping the biopharmaceutical market achieve important improvements in processing economies and efficiencies.

In tandem, Sartorius Stedim Biotech has long been a critical partner for ATMI LifeSciences and is known globally as a world-class provider of value-added systems and solutions for biopharmaceutical customers at many major points in the manufacturing process.

ATMI, Inc. provides specialty semiconductor materials, and high-purity materials handling and delivery solutions designed to increase process efficiencies for the worldwide semiconductor, flat panel, and life sciences industries.