Applied Biosystems Acquires Boston Probes; Novel PNA Technology Expands SNP, Gene Expression Assay Capability.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

FOSTER CITY, Calif. and BEDFORD, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 5, 2001

Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, today announced that it has acquired Boston Probes, Inc., a privately-held company focused on development of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe technology. Applied Biosystems previously acquired 13 percent of Boston Probes in June 2000. In the agreement announced today, the company has acquired the remaining 87 percent of the outstanding shares of Boston Probes and all of the outstanding shares of PNA-Diagnostics A/S, a privately-held Danish company, for aggregate consideration of $32.8 million in cash. PNA-Diagnostics holds certain intellectual property rights related to peptide nucleic acids. Dako A/S, a Danish diagnostic company, previously owned PNA-Diagnostics and was the majority owner of Boston Probes.

Boston Probes, based in Bedford, MA., has developed novel chemistry platforms based on its PNA technology. PNA probes mimic traditional DNA probes and may provide an important additional technological advantage for gene expression, analysis of genetic variations called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms), detection of pathogens and genetic analysis. With traditional DNA probes, short strands of DNA or RNA are used for identification of target nucleic acid sequences. PNA probes, however, generally bind more tightly to nucleic acids, and can provide greater speed, accuracy and sensitivity in sample testing. This technology is expected to be a key component of Applied Biosystems' Sequence Detection Systems (SDS), a proprietary technology platform for real-time analysis of genetic information.

"Applied Biosystems is committed to providing our customers in academic research and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with the most powerful technologies available to rapidly transform new genetic information into therapeutics. The Boston Probes PNA technology is expected to expand our current broad-based set of probe-based detection chemistry tools for drug discovery. We particularly value the knowledge and expertise of the Boston Probes employees, who are joining Applied Biosystems," said Michael W. Hunkapiller, Ph.D., president of Applied Biosystems.

"The acquisition of Boston Probes by Applied Biosystems fulfills Boston Probes' mission to place PNA probes and chemistries on one of the industry's leading research platforms," said Jack T. Johansen, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Boston Probes.

"While the divestment of Boston Probes is in line with DAKO's strategy of focused growth, it also strengthens DAKO's ability to pursue acquisition of other desirable technologies. DAKO retains all rights necessary to use PNA in its core business areas. It has been DAKO's goal to match Boston Probes with a company where the technology can be fully utilized, and we are therefore pleased that Applied Biosystems is the acquirer," said Jes Ostergaard, DAKO A/S president and chief executive officer.

About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems

Applera Corporation comprises two operating groups. The Applied Biosystems Group develops and markets instrument-based systems, reagents, software, and contract services to the life science industry and research community. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries, leading to the development of new pharmaceuticals, and to conduct standardized testing. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of $1.6 billion during fiscal 2001. The Celera Genomics Group, (NYSE:CRA) an integrated source of genomic and related medical information headquartered in Rockville, MD, is evolving to become a next generation therapeutic discovery business. Celera intends to leverage its industrialized approach to biology to develop platforms for enabling these new discoveries both for its own internal product development and for its customers, including collaboration partners and subscribers. Celera Diagnostics has been established as a joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics. This new venture is focused on discovery, development and commercialization of novel diagnostic tests. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800.762.6923. Information about Applied Biosystems is available at www.appliedbiosystems.com.

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," "intend," "anticipate," "should," and "potential," 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 and uncertainties include but are not limited to (1) rapidly changing technology and dependence on development of new products; (2) claims for patent infringement; (3) future growth strategy and other factors that might be described from time to time in Applera Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copyright (c) 2001. Applera Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Applied Biosystems, Celera, Celera Diagnostics and Celera Genomics are registered trademarks of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and certain other countries. BostonProbes is a trademark of Boston Probes, Inc. Further information on Boston Probes, founded in 1996, is available at www.bostonprobes.com.