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PE Biosystems

 

Boston Probes, Inc.
Media:
Jay Rhodes
(650) 554-2581
Investors:
Peter Dworkin
(650) 554-2479
Media:
Jack T. Johansen, Ph.D.
(781) 271-1100 x222
For Immediate Release

PE Biosystems and Boston Probes, Inc. Enter Into Cross-License To Commercialize PNA Probe Technology

PE Biosystems Purchases Minority Investment in Boston Probes

FOSTER CITY, CA and BEDFORD, MA - June 8, 2000 - PE Biosystems (NYSE:PEB), a PE Corporation business, and Boston Probes, Inc., today announced they have entered into a cross-license agreement intended to accelerate the development and commercialization of products employing peptide nucleic acid (PNA) technology. These products may be used in many areas, including basic research, pharmaceutical discovery, diagnostic development, and food and environmental testing.

In connection with the cross-license, PE Biosystems will hold a minority equity position in BPI and will be represented on the BPI Board of Directors. BPI is an affiliate of DAKO A/S, a Danish life sciences company.

PNA probes have a unique chemical structure as compared with nucleic acid DNA probes. This unique chemical structure imparts greater stability to these PNA probes, thus significantly expanding potential applications and improving both assay specificity and sensitivity.

Prior to this cross-license agreement, BPI and PEB each held various patent rights to PNA technology. As a result of the cross-license, each company will have well defined rights for its respective product offerings and for sublicensing.

"Boston Probes is a pioneer in the development of PNA technology and its applications, ranging from basic research, drug discovery, genetic disease testing and pharmaceutical manufacturing, to food and water testing," said Michael W. Hunkapiller, Ph.D., senior vice president of PE Corporation and president of PE Biosystems. "We look forward to maximizing the value of PNA technology through this new cross-license and the investment in Boston Probes. "Collaboration on this important technology tool is intended to capitalize on PEB's expertise in instrument systems and reagent development, manufacturing and marketing and BPI's long history of research and applications development. We believe these agreements will facilitate the accelerated development of broader applications for PNA probe technology."

"This cross-license agreement and the investment of PE Biosystems represents a tremendous milestone in the history of our company," said Jack T. Johansen, Ph.D., President and CEO of Boston Probes. "We believe applications of our innovative PNA technology and assay platforms, together with PE Biosystems' leadership in genetic analysis, will improve our ability to address the fast-growing market for nucleic acid diagnostics and life science research."

PE Corporation comprises two operating groups. The PE Biosystems Group with sales of $1.2 billion during fiscal 1999, develops and markets instrument-based systems, reagents, software and contract services to the life science industry and research community. PE Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, Calif., and comprises four divisions: Applied Biosystems, PE Informatics, PerSeptive Biosystems, and Tropix. Celera Genomics Group (NYSE: CRA), headquartered in Rockville, MD, intends to become the definitive source of genomic and related medical information. Information about the company, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available on the worldwide web at www.pecorporation.com or by phoning 800.762.6923.

Boston Probes is a development stage company located in Bedford, Massachusetts. The company commands an extensive PNA related intellectual property portfolio and has, since 1996, been developing PNA probe technologies for use in agriculture, human and veterinary diagnostics as well as for detection of microorganisms in foods, beverages, water, the environment and other industrial processes such as pharmaceutical manufacturing. In addition to the sale of its own products, Boston Probes is forming strategic partnerships that will allow its partners to quickly exploit the advantages of PNA technology within their products and thereby achieve a substantial competitive advantage in their respective strategic markets.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "should," "planned," "estimated," and "potential," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on PE Corporation's current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe harbor, PE Corporation notes that a variety of factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the operations, performance, development, and results of PE Biosystems businesses include but are not limited to (1) rapidly changing technology and dependence on new products; (2) sales dependent on customers' capital spending policies and government-sponsored research; (3) claims for patent infringement; (4) significant overseas operations; (5) future growth strategy; (6) earthquakes; and (7) other factors that might be described from time to time in PE Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Copyright � 2000. PE Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Celera, Celera Genomics, and PE Biosystems are trademarks of PE Corporation.