MilliporeSigma, the U.S. life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, provides laboratory products, chemicals, technologies and services used across pharmaceutical research, biotechnology, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, academia, diagnostics and industrial applications.
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The 2025 results show a mixed but improving picture: overall Life Science sales increased only 0.7% reported, but underlying organic growth reached 4.0%, with Process Solutions growing 10.7% organically.
What Is MilliporeSigma About?
MilliporeSigma operates through three major Life Science businesses:
- Science & Lab Solutions – laboratory products, reagents, analytical tools and research solutions
- Process Solutions – filtration, single-use technologies and products supporting biopharmaceutical manufacturing
- Life Science Services – contract testing, development and manufacturing services
In 2025, Life Science generated €8.98 billion in sales compared with €8.92 billion in 2024.
MilliporeSigma Life Science Sales: 2024 vs. 2025
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Science sales | €8.916B | €8.980B | +0.7% |
| Organic growth | — | +4.0% | — |
| EBITDA | €2.455B | €2.423B | -1.3% |
| EBITDA margin | 27.5% | 27.0% | -0.5 pp |
| Life Science R&D | €388M | €401M | +3.4% |
The 0.7% reported growth understates underlying performance because currency movements negatively affected sales.
Which MilliporeSigma Business Is Growing Fastest?
Process Solutions is the standout performer.
Sales increased from approximately €3.52 billion in 2024 to €3.79 billion in 2025, representing 7.5% reported growth and 10.7% organic growth.
| Business | 2024 Sales | 2025 Sales | 2025 Organic Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science & Lab Solutions | €4.672B | €4.536B | +0.3% |
| Process Solutions | €3.522B | €3.785B | +10.7% |
| Life Science Services | €722M | €659M | -4.5% |
| Total Life Science | €8.916B | €8.980B | +4.0% |
Process Solutions represented approximately 42% of Life Science revenue in 2025, compared with 40% in 2024.
Why Is Process Solutions Growing?
Process Solutions is directly connected to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
Its portfolio supports:
- Biopharmaceutical production
- Filtration
- Single-use manufacturing
- Fluid management
- Sterile production
- Process development
- Cell and gene therapy manufacturing
- Vaccine production
The 10.7% organic growth suggests improving demand for technologies used in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
What Happened to Science & Lab Solutions?
Science & Lab Solutions remained the largest business, generating €4.54 billion in 2025.
However, reported sales declined 2.9%, while organic growth was only 0.3%.
MilliporeSigma cited weaker spending conditions in parts of the academic and government research environment, particularly in the U.S. and China, while early-stage biotech funding remained relatively flat.
This highlights an important distinction: research spending can remain cautious even while demand for biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies improves.
Who Are the Actual Buyers?
MilliporeSigma does not sell to one single customer group. Its Life Science portfolio serves several major buyer categories.
The company’s own reporting identifies its Life Science customers as including academic laboratories, biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers and industrial customers.
1. Pharmaceutical Companies
Large and mid-sized pharmaceutical manufacturers purchase:
- APIs and process chemicals
- Filtration systems
- Single-use equipment
- Manufacturing materials
- Analytical products
- Quality-control products
- Bioprocessing technologies
These buyers are particularly important for Process Solutions.
2. Biotechnology Companies
Biotech companies use MilliporeSigma products from early research through commercial manufacturing.
Typical requirements include:
- Cell culture products
- Reagents
- Laboratory chemicals
- Protein and antibody production tools
- Filtration
- Single-use systems
- Process-development technologies
3. Academic and Government Laboratories
Universities and government-funded laboratories represent important customers for Science & Lab Solutions.
Typical buyers include:
- University laboratories
- Research institutes
- Government research centers
- Core laboratories
- Individual researchers
This customer group is more sensitive to research funding cycles, which helps explain weakness in some U.S. and Chinese research spending environments.
4. Contract Manufacturing and Research Organizations
CROs and CDMOs purchase laboratory and manufacturing technologies to support pharmaceutical and biotech customers.
They are particularly relevant for:
- Bioprocessing
- Analytical testing
- Drug development
- Manufacturing
- Sterile processing
- Advanced therapies
5. Industrial and Diagnostic Customers
MilliporeSigma also serves industrial companies and diagnostic laboratories, expanding its customer base beyond pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing.
Where Are the Main Buyers?
MilliporeSigma’s largest customer opportunity is concentrated in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, which together accounted for approximately 95% of Life Science sales in 2025.
| Region | 2025 Sales | Approx. Share | Organic Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | €3.315B | 37% | +5.8% |
| North America | €3.065B | 34% | +1.4% |
| Asia-Pacific | €2.125B | 24% | +4.5% |
| Latin America | €362M | 4% | +8.2% |
| Middle East & Africa | €112M | 1% | +3.1% |
Europe was the largest regional contributor in 2025, while North America remained almost as large. Asia-Pacific represented roughly one-quarter of Life Science sales and delivered 4.5% organic growth.
Where Are the Key Buyers Concentrated?
U.S. and Canada: Major pharmaceutical, biotech, CDMO, academic and research ecosystems.
Germany and wider Europe: Strong pharmaceutical manufacturing, research institutions and bioprocessing activity.
China: Large pharmaceutical and research base, although laboratory spending has faced pressure.
Japan and broader APAC: Established pharmaceutical and life science industries combined with growing biomanufacturing capabilities.
India and emerging Asia: Growing pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotech and laboratory demand.
The regional footprint is therefore important because MilliporeSigma is exposed to both research spending and pharmaceutical manufacturing investment.
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R&D Investment Is Increasing
Life Science R&D spending increased from €388 million in 2024 to €401 million in 2025, representing approximately 3.4% growth.
At the broader Merck KGaA Group level, R&D spending increased from €2.279 billion to €2.415 billion, a 5.9% increase.
| R&D Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Science R&D | €388M | €401M | +3.4% |
| Merck Group R&D | €2.279B | €2.415B | +5.9% |
| Life Science R&D / sales | 4.4% | 4.5% | Increased |
The investment supports innovation across laboratory technologies, bioprocessing and other life science applications.
What Is MilliporeSigma Doing Differently?
One of its strongest advantages is its position across the research-to-manufacturing continuum.
The company can participate in several stages:
Research → Development → Process Optimization → Manufacturing → Testing
This is particularly valuable when a biotech program moves from laboratory research into commercial biopharmaceutical production.
Its portfolio also increasingly connects with:
- Biologics
- Cell and gene therapy
- Advanced bioprocessing
- Single-use technologies
- Sterile manufacturing
- Process analytics
The strong performance of Process Solutions demonstrates the importance of this manufacturing-facing strategy.
Who Are the Main Competitors?
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher competes strongly across laboratory products, life science research and biopharmaceutical services.
Its Life Sciences Solutions business generated approximately $10.37 billion in 2025, up from $9.63 billion in 2024, or roughly 7.7% growth.
Its broader Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment generated approximately $23.98 billion in 2025.
Danaher
Danaher competes through biotechnology, life science and diagnostics businesses.
Its 2025 revenue included:
- $7.29B Biotechnology
- $7.33B Life Sciences
- $9.94B Diagnostics
- $24.57B total company revenue
Biotechnology revenue increased approximately 7.9% year over year.
Sartorius
Sartorius has particularly strong exposure to bioprocessing and single-use technologies.
Its 2025 sales reached approximately €3.54 billion, with 7.6% constant-currency growth.
Its Bioprocess Solutions division generated approximately €2.87 billion, growing 9.5% in constant currencies.
Simple Competitive Snapshot
| Company | Relevant 2025 Sales | Growth | Main Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| MilliporeSigma / Merck Life Science | €8.98B | +0.7% reported / +4.0% organic | Laboratory + bioprocessing |
| Thermo Fisher | $10.37B Life Sciences Solutions | ~7.7% | Research + biopharma |
| Danaher | $7.29B Biotechnology | ~7.9% | Bioprocessing + life sciences |
| Sartorius | €3.54B group | +7.6% CC | Bioprocessing + consumables |
These figures are not perfectly like-for-like because companies report different business segments and currencies.
What Is Trending Across Life Science?
The 2025 results highlight several important trends:
- Bioprocessing demand: Process Solutions achieved 10.7% organic growth.
- Single-use technologies: Increasingly important for flexible biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
- Biologics production: Manufacturing technologies remain a major growth area.
- Cell and gene therapy: Advanced therapies require specialized production infrastructure.
- Recurring consumables: Consumable products remain important for recurring revenue.
- Research funding pressure: Academic and government laboratory spending remains uneven.
- Regional diversification: Europe, North America and APAC remain the core revenue regions.
- R&D investment: Life Science R&D increased 3.4% in 2025.
What Companies Should Focus On
Pharma, biotech and life science companies should focus on:
- Bioprocessing capacity
- Single-use manufacturing
- Advanced therapy production
- Laboratory automation
- Manufacturing flexibility
- Supply-chain resilience
- Regional manufacturing capacity
- Process efficiency
- Research-to-commercial transitions
- Recurring laboratory and manufacturing consumables
The strongest signal from MilliporeSigma’s 2025 results is that demand is increasingly shifting toward technologies directly connected to biopharmaceutical production.
How Towards Healthcare Can Help
Towards Healthcare Research & Consulting can help pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life science companies track:
- Company sales and revenue growth
- R&D investment
- Bioprocessing investments
- Manufacturing expansions
- Competitor performance
- Product and technology launches
- Cell and gene therapy infrastructure
- Regional opportunities
- Partnerships and acquisitions
- Buyer and customer intelligence
- Life science spending trends
This connects financial performance, customer demand, R&D investment, technology adoption and regional growth to provide a clearer picture of where the life science industry is moving.
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