Applied Biosystems/MDS Sciex and Dionex Corporation Announce an Alliance to Jointly Develop and Market Analytical Solutions for Emerging Markets Opportunities.

SAN ANTONIO -- Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, together with its joint venture partner MDS Sciex, a division of MDS Inc. (NYSE:MDZ)(TSX:MDS) and Dionex Corporation (Nasdaq:DNEX), today announced the establishment of an alliance to develop IC-MS/MS and LC/MS/MS solutions for emerging market opportunities. The first jointly-developed solution focuses on the analysis of Perchlorate, an environmental contaminant that is currently receiving international attention.

Perchlorate, a contaminant that has been used widely in industrial and military applications, is a powerful thyroid toxin that has been monitored in the drinking water supply in many states across the U.S. and found in foods and beverages globally.

Joint work performed by Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX and Dionex has already been incorporated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the recent development of EPA Method 332.0 "Determination of Perchlorate in Drinking Water by Ion Chromatography with Suppressed Conductivity and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry."

"The voluntary assistance of companies such as Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX joint venture and Dionex provides invaluable support to our analytical methods development activities," said David J. Munch, Chemistry Laboratory Manager of the Office of Ground & Drinking Water at the Environmental Protection Agency. "We hope that this is the first in a long line of cooperative efforts to develop the quality of analytical methods needed to assure the quality of drinking water while providing the latest technologies to the analytical laboratory community."

"Current methods for environmental testing do not provide the degree of confidence needed to confirm the presence of a contaminant," said Mark P. Stevenson, Division President of Applied Markets for Applied Biosystems. "The combination of ion chromatography and mass spectrometry provides a way for scientists to confirm both the presence and amount of a contaminant in a single analysis."

Future projects are expected to focus on coupling Dionex high-performance ion chromatography and liquid chromatography technologies and chemistries with Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX state of the art mass spectrometers to generate analytical solutions required for the accurate and sensitive measurement of a wide range of target analytes.

"Dionex is pleased to enter into the Alliance Agreement with the Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX joint venture," said David Bow, Vice President of North American Sales, Service and Corporate Marketing for Dionex Corporation. "I am excited about this relationship because I feel that the combined strengths of Dionex's expertise in separation science coupled with Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX's expertise in mass spectroscopy will provide unique and powerful new solutions for the markets we serve.

This announcement was made today in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Conference of the American Society of Mass Spectrometry in San Antonio, TX.

About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems

Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The Applied Biosystems Group serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries, develop new pharmaceuticals, and conduct standardized testing. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of $1.7 billion during fiscal 2004. The Celera Genomics Group (NYSE:CRA) is engaged principally in the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Celera Genomics is leveraging its proteomic, bioinformatic, and genomic capabilities to identify and validate drug targets, and to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics. It is also seeking to advance therapeutic antibody and selected small molecule drug programs in collaboration with global technology and market leaders. Celera Diagnostics, a 50/50 joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics, is focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic products. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at http://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800-762-6923. Information about Applied Biosystems is available at http://www.appliedbiosystems.com/.

Applied Biosystems Forward Looking Statement

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," "plans," and "should" among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Applera 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, Applera 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. These factors include but are not limited to (1) rapidly changing technology and dependence on the development and customer acceptance of new products; (2) claims for patent infringement; and (3) other factors that might be described from time to time in Applera Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

About Dionex Corporation

Dionex Corporation is a world leader in ion chromatography and a leading liquid chromatography company. Dionex manufactures HPLC and IC instruments and columns, sample preparation devices, and develops chromatography automation and data management software under ISO 9001 procedures.

About MDS Sciex and MDS Inc.

MDS Sciex is the analytical instrumentation and technology solutions division of MDS Inc. MDS Inc. has more than 9,000 highly skilled people in 25 countries. We provide a diverse range of superior products and services to increase our customers' speed, precision and productivity in the drug development and disease diagnosis processes. We are a global, values-driven health and life sciences company, recognized for our reliability and collaborative relationships as we help create better outcomes in the treatment of disease. Find out more at www.mdsintl.com or by calling 888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.

For research use only. Not for use in diagnostics procedures.

Applera and Celera Diagnostics are trademarks and Applied Biosystems and Celera are registered trademarks of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries.

API 2000 and API 3200 are trademarks and Q TRAP is a registered trademark of Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX, a joint venture between Applera Corporation and MDS Inc.

All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.

Copyright(C) 2005. Applera Corporation and MDS Inc. All rights reserved. Information subject to change without notice.