Agencourt Bioscience Introduces New Reagent for Genomic DNA Isolation.

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Isopure(TM) Buccal Cell Genomic DNA Purification Kit Expands Company's SPRI(R) Magnetic Bead Technology into New Markets

Agencourt Bioscience Corporation, a provider of genomic services and nucleic acid purification products to the life sciences industry, today introduced Isopure, a reagent for the purification of genomic DNA from buccal cells. Isopure(TM) is based on Agencourt's patented SPRI(R) (Solid Phase Reversible Immobilization) technology and expands the Company's product line of magnetic bead-based kits to include isolation of genomic DNA.

Isopure purifies genomic DNA from buccal cells collected either by cheek swab or mouthwash formats for downstream applications such as PCR. Driven by Agencourt's SPRI magnetic bead technology, Isopure provides researchers with a simple, streamlined method for consistent isolation of quality DNA. The method is available for both tube and 96-well microplate formats and can easily be automated for higher throughput requirements.

"The collection of DNA samples using cheek swabs and mouthwash technologies is an expanding isolation method due to growing diagnostic and forensic applications," said Kevin McKernan, Co-Chief Scientific Officer, Agencourt Bioscience Corp. "Isopure is optimized for use in these applications with the added benefits of SPRI technology including consistent purification of quality nucleic acids, robust protocols and flexible throughputs."

About Agencourt Bioscience Corporation

Agencourt Bioscience Corporation is a provider of genomic services and nucleic acid purification products that help biotech and pharmaceutical companies improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their drug development pipelines. Agencourt's Discovery Solutions(TM) suite of genomic and functional genomic services includes high-throughput sequencing, SAGE(TM) sequencing, library construction and SNP discovery. The company's purification products and services are based on the proven and patented Solid Phase Reversible Immobilization (SPRI(TM)) technology, which has been adopted by several of the largest genome research facilities, resulting in more base pairs contributed to GenBank than any other nucleic acid purification technology and used to sequence over one-third of the human genome. Agencourt was recently the sole commercial sequencing provider to be designated by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) as one of five Large-Scale Sequencing Centers. The company has also been confirmed to be operating in compliance with the requirements of the Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) as a contract analytical laboratory. Agencourt is located in Beverly, Massachusetts and is available on the Web at www.agencourt.com.