Applied Biosystems Announces Joint Research Protocol with the NCI Cohort Consortium in Study of Breast and Prostate Cancer.

FOSTER CITY, Calif. & ANAHEIM, Calif. -- NCI Cohort Consortium Employs Applied Biosystems TaqMan(R) SNP Genotyping Assays and 7900HT Real-Time PCR System in 10-Center Study

Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, today announced a joint, research protocol with the Cohort Consortium of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of the largest cohorts performing disease association studies. The protocol is being applied to discover inherited gene variants in research samples taken from patients with breast and prostate cancer, and assess the genetic variants and behavioral and environmental factors associated with the development of these cancers.

Preliminary results from the first study conducted through the Cohort Consortium, titled "Breast and Prostate Cancer and Hormone-Related Gene Variants (BPC3) Study," will be presented this week at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), April 16-20, 2005, in Anaheim, CA, U.S.A.

The NCI Cohort Consortium is using Applied Biosystems TaqMan(R) SNP Genotyping Assays and 7900HT Real-Time PCR Systems to identify novel inherited gene variants that may contribute to the development of these two cancers. The study combines the resources of six large prospective cohort studies across 10 centers and includes samples from more than 6,000 breast and 8,000 prostate cancer patients. The SNP genotyping assays designed by Applied Biosystems and used by the NCI Cohort Consortium will be made public to researchers at two sites, http://www.uscnorris.com/MECGenetics and http://snp500cancer.nci.nih.gov.

"Coordinating and standardizing genotyping activities across such a large-scale, multi-center consortium are essential to obtaining consistent, meaningful data," said Brian E. Henderson, M.D., Dean of the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. "We believe the collaboration between Applied Biosystems and the Cohort Consortium for breast and prostate cancer serves as a model for other large-scale, genetic association studies."

"Exploring how genetic variation influences susceptibility in complex diseases, such as breast and prostate cancer, is critical to the development of effective therapies," said Dennis A. Gilbert, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer for Applied Biosystems. "We are excited about this opportunity to apply our genotyping tools to advance targeted medicine."

The BPC3 Study data being presented at AACR include:

    --  Haplotype analysis of the HSD17B1 gene and risk of breast
        cancer: Results of the NCI Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort
        Consortium (BPC3)
        Monday, April 18, 2005, 9:55-10:10 a.m. PDT

    --  Genetic variation in the HSD17B1 gene and risk of prostate
        cancer: Results from the NCI Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort
        Consortium (BPC3)
        Monday, April 18, 2005, 10:25-10:40 a.m. PDT

    --  A comprehensive analysis of the AR gene and risk of breast
        cancer: Results from the NCI Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort
        Consortium (BPC3)
        Monday, April 18, 2005, 1:00-5:00 p.m. PDT

About the NCI Cohort Consortium and BPC3 Study

In 2003, the NCI Cohort Consortium launched its first initiative to promote the integration of the rapid advances in population genetics into large-scale studies on cancer with the BPC3 Study. This multidisciplinary collaboration combines the resources of six large prospective cohort studies, including The Multiethnic Cohort (University of Hawaii (UH) and University of Southern California (USC)), the American Cancer Society (ACS) Cohort, four Harvard Cohorts (the Nurses' Health Study, the Women's Health Study, the Physicians' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study), the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), the NCI Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Study based in Finland, and the NCI Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial; three genomic facilities, including the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, NCI, and Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) in Paris; and six genotyping centers, including USC, UH, NCI, Harvard, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and Cambridge University.

The participation of the Multiethnic Cohort, ACS Cohort, Harvard Cohorts, and EPIC in the BPC3 Study is funded by NCI's Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences.

The BPC3 Study's objectives are to test feasibility and confirm findings between cohorts, while determining how genes interact with hormones, growth factors, and other risk factors in breast and prostate cancer development. Researchers will draw data from 897,000 people enrolled in six cohorts, including 8,850 with prostate cancer and 6,160 with breast cancer. They will look for undiscovered inherited gene variants that may contribute to the development of these two cancers. The two cancers were chosen because of their high incidence and similarities in their causal pathways.

Cohorts are groups of individuals followed over time to track disease occurrence. Researchers periodically collect medical information and biological specimens from the participants. Because large cohort studies are expensive, few exist.

About TaqMan(R) SNP Genotyping Assays

Applied Biosystems offers more than two million TaqMan(R) SNP Genotyping Assays to provide more robust coverage of the genome for gene-finding, human disease association studies, and offers Custom TaqMan(R) SNP Genotyping Assays for additional human SNPs and insertion-deletions, as well as support for polymorphisms other species. These products eliminate the labor, expense, and bioinformatics expertise previously necessary for generating high quality SNP genotyping data. The assays are part of the Applied Biosystems genotyping solution, which also includes the Applied Biosystems Real-Time PCR Systems.

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/.

The PCR process and the 5' nuclease process are covered by patents owned by Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

Practice of the patented polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process requires a license. Applied Biosystems 7900HT Fast Real-Time PCR Systems are Authorized Thermal Cyclers for PCR and may be used with PCR licenses available from Applied Biosystems. Their use with Authorized Reagents also provides a limited PCR license in accordance with the label rights accompanying such reagents. Purchase of this instrument does not convey any right to practice the 5' nuclease assay or any of the other real-time methods covered by patents owned by Roche or Applied Biosystems.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Copyright(C) 2005. Applera Corporation. All rights reserved. Applied Biosystems and Celera are registered trademarks and Applera, Celera Diagnostics, and Celera Genomics are trademarks of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries.