ACLARA and Cellomics Enter Into Exclusive Alliance for CellChip System.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 2, 1999--

ACLARA BioSciences, Inc. and Cellomics, Inc. announced today the formation of an exclusive alliance to develop, manufacture and market the CellChip(TM) System for advanced whole-cell analyses in the life science markets. The extensive microfluidics and microfabrication strengths of ACLARA, together with the cell and molecular biology, fluorescence-based reagents, optical detection, informatics and cell patterning strengths of Cellomics, will be coupled to create a powerful new platform.

The CellChip(TM) System is a miniature platform designed to enable massive numbers of parallel live-cell assays to be performed for a broad range of applications including the discovery of new drugs, and stratification of patients for effective therapies and basic bio-science. The goal will be to precisely control biological systems, in order to permit new kinds of research that were not previously possible without CellChip(TM) technology.

The CellChip(TM) System will consist of a closed cassette containing uniquely patterned arrays of animal or plant cells on the Cellomics CellChip(TM) Plate, with direct microfluidic addressing of cell domains by ACLARA's microfluidic LabCard(TM) to allow more advanced cellular assemblies, as well as significantly decreased consumption of reagents and test compounds.

The CellChip(TM) System should generate massively parallel high throughput primary screening data for early drug discovery work, as well as the provision of higher resolution, multiplexed secondary assays on the same chip at the same time.

Markets include drug discovery, diagnostics, environmental testing and basic biomedical research. The Companies will also seek additional corporate partners to complete the system.

Joseph M. Limber, President and CEO of ACLARA, explained, "Cellomics has pioneered a fundamentally new approach to cell-based assays, wherein arrays of cells are patterned on a chip surface. ACLARA's microfluidics technology will enable the chemical and biological environment around each cell domain to be independently controlled, by introducing small amounts of reagents and test compounds to these domains on demand. This is an ideal combination of complementary, proprietary technologies that furthers ACLARA's strategy of leveraging our technology platform through strategic collaborations".

"Cellomics is currently the leader in delivering novel products for fluorescence-based cell analyses using microplates in the market of drug discovery", stated D. Lansing Taylor, President and CEO of Cellomics, Inc. "This alliance with ACLARA, the leading microfluidics company, will position us to lead the transition from the use of microplates to chips in the future."

ACLARA BioSciences, a privately held company with established microfabrication and microfluidic technologies, provides new tools for genomics and drug discovery. By performing integrated sample processing and analysis, the Company's LabCard(TM) device enables rapid, parallel processing of large numbers of samples while requiring only minute volumes of expensive or rare reagents. ACLARA has two strategic partnerships with PE Biosystems, co-developing systems for genomics and high throughput screening.

Cellomics(TM), Inc., a privately held corporation founded in October 1996, is focused on cell-based drug discovery. Cellomics' mission is to be the leader in generating high biological content data and knowledge from cells using the integration of novel fluorescence-based biosensors, automated platforms, and cellular bioinformatics for faster and more effective drug discovery. The company has received financing from InterWest Partners, Axiom Venture Partners, Delphi Ventures and Oxford Bioscience Partners. Cellomics has an alliance with Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH, the world's leader in optical instrumentation and automation and a partnership with Molecular Probes, Inc., the leading provider of novel fluorescent reagents and techniques.