EMD Chemicals' Parent Company Recognized for Printed Electronics Breakthrough.

GIBBSTOWN, N.J. -- Two research scientists of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a global pharmaceutical and chemicals company and parent company of EMD Chemicals Inc, (EMD) won the top award for research and development at the fourth Organic Electronics Conference and Exhibition held recently in Frankfurt. This is the premier award in the international organic electronics community and is the latest in a list of recognitions received this year by the company's Southampton, UK-based research and development team.

Merck KGaA scientists Iain McCulloch and Martin Heeney were honored for their invention of thienothiophene polymer semiconductors and the subsequent high profile publication in Nature Materials that was a result of excellent collaborations with Palo Alto Research Center and Stanford University, both in California. The panel of independent judges noted that the research by McCulloch and Heeney stood out from the other entrants because it overcame the limitation of current semiconducting polymers, caused a stir in both the academic and industry communities, and moved the industry one step closer to making products based on organic electronics a reality. The award was presented September 26 at a banquet in Frankfurt.

According to the Organic Electronics Association, such inventions are leading to new applications that will be thin, lightweight, flexible and ultimately low cost. Applications could include smart and intelligent packaging, flexible displays, disposable sensors, brand protection and even interactive games.

Robert S. Miller, Corporate Business Development Manager for EMD comments, "Our scientists' efforts in this field are a demonstration of our willingness to make the long-term commitment that is a prerequisite for commercial success in emerging technologies such as printable electronics. Merck KGaA is the materials supplier of choice to the display and organic electronics industries and EMD makes this innovative technology and expertise accessible to the North American market."

These new semiconducting materials developed by Merck KGaA's team based in Southampton also won the OrgaTechno 2006 Award in Japan for the best results in organic and high polymer technology development and the Alfred Woodhead Award presented by the Society for Information Display, the international association for the electronic display industry.

About EMD Chemicals Inc.

EMD Chemicals represents the North American chemical sector of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. As an international organization with 1,100 employees and revenues of more than $US 350 million, EMD Chemicals focuses on specialty chemicals for pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetic, agricultural, automotive, plastics electronics and other industrial applications

About Merck KGaA

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical enterprise with sales of e1/4 5.9 billion in 2005, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by 29,958 employees in 55 countries. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.

About the Organic Electronics Association

The Organic Electronics Association (OE-A) is a working group within the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and was founded in December 2004. OE-A is an information and communication platform and represents the whole process chain in organic electronics. Our members are international leading companies and institutions, ranging from R&D institutes, component and material suppliers, equipment and tool suppliers to producers / system integrators and end-users. Nearly 60 companies from Europe and the US work together to promote the establishment of a production infrastructure for organic electronics. The vision of OE-A is to build a bridge between science, technology and application.