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.
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