Applied Biosystems Appoints Masahide Habu as President of Applied Biosystems Japan Ltd.

FOSTER CITY, Calif. & TOKYO -- Mark Stevenson, Former President and General Manager of Applied Biosystems Japan Ltd., to Lead New Applied Markets Division

Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, today announced the appointment of Masahide Habu as President of Applied Biosystems Japan Ltd. Mr. Habu will direct and oversee the group's Japanese operations and manage an organization of approximately 280 employees. Mark Stevenson, former President and General Manager of Applied Biosystems Japan Ltd., has been appointed to Division President of Applied Markets for Applied Biosystems. Both will report to Catherine M. Burzik, President of Applied Biosystems.

Mr. Habu, 55, joined Applied Biosystems Japan Ltd. as Director of Sales and Marketing in 2003, and brought nearly 30 years of sales, marketing, and new business development experience from positions of increasing responsibility in the health sciences at Kodak. Mr. Habu was previously General Manager, Japan Region and Vice President of Kodak Professional, and also served as Vice President, Health Science, for the Asia and Pacific Region at Kodak.

"Masahide Habu's leadership skills and understanding of the Japanese life-science marketplace should enhance Applied Biosystems' strong position in this important market, the largest single-country market for our products outside the United States," said Ms. Burzik.

"At Applied Biosystems Japan, the customer is our first priority, and it is important that we continue to offer products and services that anticipate and correspond to Japanese needs," said Mr. Habu. "My primary mission is to strengthen the organization and the corporate culture that is focused on customer satisfaction by leveraging Applied Biosystems' innovative technology, and by providing tools for basic research, commercial pharmaceutical and biotechnology research, and standardized testing."

The Applied Markets Division is one of four integrated divisions created in a reorganization of Applied Biosystems announced in July 2004. As Division President of Applied Markets, Mr. Stevenson, 41, will be responsible for managing and growing a portfolio of products that address specific, non-research applications of Applied Biosystems technologies. Current products include instruments, nucleic acid-based assays, and software for human identification for forensics and paternity testing, and for food and environmental testing. Before managing Applied Biosystems Japan Ltd., Mr. Stevenson was Director of the Molecular Biology and Informatics Businesses for Applied Biosystems Europe.

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/. 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 unless required by law.

Copyright(C) 2004. Applera Corporation. All rights reserved. Applied Biosystems is a registered trademark and Applera, Celera, Celera Diagnostics, Celera Discovery System, and Celera Genomics are trademarks of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries.