AMR Research Ranks SciQuest.com in Top 5 of 600 Independent Trading Exchanges.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2000

Strength of SciQuest.com's business model and

functionality are key differentiating factors against

leading exchanges across major vertical industries

SciQuest.com(TM), Inc. (Nasdaq: SQST), a leading business-to-business e-marketplace for the global scientific products industry, was ranked in the top five of independent trading exchanges (ITEs) by AMR Research.

The ranking appeared in AMR's report "Evaluating the Independent Trading Exchanges" issued on April 24, 2000.

AMR analysts note that not all ITEs are equal, and that there are four evolving levels of functionality:

-- Information: The bulk of the B2B start-ups are in this category. The information takes the form of industry directories, product databases and catalogs, discussion forums and billboards, and professional development.

-- Facilitation: Facilitation is the ability to match a buyer's specific need with a supplier's specific offering. The transaction is completed offline via traditional channels.

-- Transaction: This is a higher level of commitment from the ITE and participants where trading partners can consummate the transaction online.

-- Integration: Integration functionality allows ITEs to fit into a larger supply chain and application integration strategy.

According to the report, the best-positioned ITEs -- including SciQuest.com -- are in the Integration category, where they are successfully leveraging existing relationships and are integrated with legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems. "SciQuest.com gets high marks for integration," the report notes. "The company reported successful integration with multiple installations of applications from Oracle, SAP, and other ERP vendors, and it improved its content and integration position through a partnership with OnDisplay, Inc." (attribution: Scott Latham, The AMR Research report on e-Commerce Applications, March 2000.)

"We're honored to rank so highly among all the B2B leaders and appreciate that AMR recognized the strength of our business model and technological capabilities," says Scott Andrews, SciQuest.com's CEO and co-founder. "SciQuest.com's success is a direct reflection of the strength of our management team's supply chain and domain expertise. Our associates are uniquely qualified to solve the complex challenges of streamlining the fragmented scientific supply chain. This ranking speaks to the quality of our employees, our business and the need for a neutral, focused marketplace for the inefficient global scientific industry.

"Our exclusive supplier offering, solid base of marquee customers, multiple revenue streams and our capital resources ideally position us to achieve our long-term vision of being the scientific industry's preferred e-marketplace and supply chain solution."

About SciQuest.com

SciQuest.com, Inc., is a Web-based, interactive marketplace for scientific and laboratory products used by pharmaceutical, clinical, biotechnology, chemical, industrial and educational organizations worldwide. SciQuest.com has used its extensive industry experience to design a marketplace that streamlines the traditionally inefficient scientific products supply chain. The company's marketplace solutions allow buyers of scientific products to cross-search and purchase products from multiple suppliers with a single order, and purchase refurbished equipment from SciQuest.com Auctions. In March, SciQuest.com completed the acquisition of Pennsylvania-based EMAX Solution Partners, for the purpose of creating an integrated e-business solution that manages the entire lifecycle of scientific laboratory products, from selection and procurement through ownership, use and disposal. The company's e-marketplace is distributor-neutral and can be customized and seamlessly integrated with its customers' enterprise systems, internal inventory systems and chemical libraries. The company maintains additional technology partnerships with Ariba, Commerce One, Intelisys and Oracle, among others. SciQuest.com is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, N.C., with North American offices in Mountain View, Calif., Philadelphia, Penn., and Plainview, N.Y; and European offices in London, Paris and Walldorf, Germany. For more information about SciQuest.com, please visit http://www.sciquest.com or call [phone].

SciQuest, SciQuest.com and EMAX are trademarks of SciQuest.com, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For such statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The potential risks and uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented herein, and the reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the Company's ability to successfully market the SciQuest.com brand, to successfully expand its international operations, to increase transaction volume, to attract and retain a broad range of purchasers and suppliers, to effectively add additional products to its e-commerce database, to successfully integrate its acquisition of EMAX Solution Partners and to otherwise operate efficiently and cost effectively. These and other risk factors are discussed in the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15, 2000.