Affymetrix Inventors Named European Inventors of the Year; European Patent Office Recognizes Microarray Invention.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) announced today that Founder, Chairman and CEO, Stephen P.A. Fodor, Ph.D., as well as Lubert Stryer, MD (Chairman, Affymetrix Scientific Advisory Board), J. Leighton Read, MD and Michael C. Pirrung, Ph.D. were named the 2006 "European Inventors of the Year" by the European Patent Office (EPO) in the small to medium sized enterprise category. The award recognizes the inventors for being the first to file patents on high-density microarray technology. For more information on the EPO awards, please visit: http://www.european-patent-office.org/news/pressrel/2006_05_11_e.htm

The European Inventor of the Year award acknowledges individuals for outstanding contribution to innovation with products that have proven lasting commercial success. The inventors were recommended for the award by a high-profile, independent jury of international experts from industry, science and politics. This is the first year of the award and all of the nominated patents were granted by the EPO between 1991 and 2000.

These scientists were the first to develop and describe microarray technologies and combinatorial chemistry synthesis. Seminal manuscripts describing this work have been published in Science, Nature and PNAS. The microarray technology became the basis of Affymetrix, a company that Dr. Fodor co-founded. Today, Affymetrix arrays are considered the gold standard tool for analyzing complex genetic information. They are used by hundreds of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrichemical, diagnostics and consumer products companies as well as academic, government and other non-profit research institutes.

"We have witnessed a rapid progression in the evolution of the microarray since we first filed the patents in the late 1980's. Affymetrix continues to raise the bar with products, such as the Human Mapping 500K Array Set, All-Exon arrays and whole-genome tiling arrays that provide a much deeper and broader view of the complete genome, enabling researchers to perform experiments that were never possible before," said Fodor. "Affymetrix is a company that prides itself on innovation and it is an honor to be recognized with this award from such an influential intergovernmental body like the European Patent Office."

About Affymetrix:

Affymetrix scientists invented the world's first microarray in 1989 and began selling the first commercial microarray in 1994. Since then, Affymetrix GeneChip(R) technology has become the industry standard in molecular biology research. Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies, as well as by leading academic, government and not-for-profit research institutes. More than 1,300 GeneChip systems have been shipped around the world and more than 4,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology. Affymetrix' patented photolithographic manufacturing process provides the highest information capacity available today on an array, enabling researchers to use a whole-genome approach to analyze the relationship between genetics and health. Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., and Bedford, Mass. The company maintains important sales and marketing operations in Europe and Asia and has about 1,000 employees worldwide. For more information about Affymetrix, please visit the company's Web site at www.affymetrix.com.

All statements in this press release that are not historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including statements regarding Affymetrix' "expectations," "beliefs," "hopes," "intentions," "strategies" or the like. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected, including, but not limited to: risks of the Company's ability to achieve and sustain higher levels of revenue, higher gross margins, reduced operating expenses; uncertainties relating to technological approaches, manufacturing (including risks related to the Company's ability to achieve hoped-for manufacturing yields for certain array products, including the ability to identify and resolve manufacturing problems), product development; personnel retention; uncertainties related to cost and pricing of Affymetrix products; dependence on collaborative partners; uncertainties relating to sole source suppliers; uncertainties relating to FDA and other regulatory approvals; competition; risks relating to intellectual property of others and the uncertainties of patent protection and litigation. These and other risk factors are discussed in Affymetrix' Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, and other SEC reports, including its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for subsequent quarterly periods. Affymetrix expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Affymetrix' expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

NOTE: Affymetrix, the Affymetrix logo and GeneChip are registered trademarks owned or used by Affymetrix Inc.