Applied Biosystems and Eppendorf Announce Real-Time PCR Instrument Licensing Agreement.

FOSTER CITY, Calif. & HAMBURG, Germany -- Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, today announced it has granted a worldwide, royalty-bearing license to Eppendorf AG under a real-time thermal cycler patent rights agreement. Under the agreement, Eppendorf will have the right to manufacture and sell real-time thermal cyclers in the research and applied fields. Financial terms of the license were not disclosed.

"This agreement with Eppendorf further validates the significance of Applied Biosystems' real-time thermal cycler technology," said Paul D. Grossman, Ph.D., Esq., Vice President, Strategic Planning, Business Development and Intellectual Property for Applied Biosystems. "We may consider entering into additional licenses with high quality vendors under the right terms."

"We are pleased to announce our agreement with Applied Biosystems," said Klaus Fink, CEO and President of Eppendorf AG. "We are committed to providing our customers with access to technologies that are of greatest importance for the life sciences sector. Our new product generation of real-time cyclers ensures best practices in laboratories in terms of productivity, simplicity, and ease of use."

The license to Eppendorf is based on U.S. Patent No. 6,814,934 and foreign equivalents. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) granted Applera this fundamental patent pertaining to real-time PCR instrumentation in November 2004. Counterpart patents in Europe and Japan have been provisionally held invalid by the corresponding patent offices. Applera has appealed those decisions.

PCR, an enabling technology for life science and other research, is a process in which a segment of a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) is copied or "amplified" so that the nucleic acid can be more readily analyzed. In real-time PCR, the amplified DNA is detected during, rather than at the end of, the PCR process, a feature that facilitates greater accuracy in important applications, including gene expression quantitation and genotyping.

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 and develop new pharmaceuticals. Applied Biosystems' products also serve the needs of some markets outside of life science research, which we refer to as "applied markets," such as the fields of: human identity testing (forensic and paternity testing); biosecurity, which refers to products needed in response to the threat of biological terrorism and other malicious, accidental, and natural biological dangers; and quality and safety testing, for example in food and the environment. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of nearly $1.8 billion during fiscal 2005. 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/.

About Eppendorf AG

The Eppendorf group, based in Hamburg, Germany, is a leading supplier of systems and research tools for the biotechnology industry worldwide. Eppendorf manufactures instruments and consumables for liquid handling as well as a range of PCR products including instruments. Other products comprise centrifugation, bio reagents and innovative kits for nucleic acid purification and PCR, as well as premium products for cell technology research. In the 2004 financial year, Eppendorf employed 1,748 people worldwide and achieved sales of 287 million Euro (approx. 345 million US Dollars) with an operative result (EBIT) of 40.1 million Euro (approx. 48 million US Dollars). More information about Eppendorf is available at http://www.eppendorf.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

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," "should," "anticipate," and "planned," 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 could adversely affect demand for Applied Biosystems' products, and its business is dependent on development and customer acceptance of new products; (2) risks associated with lawsuits, arbitrations, investigations, and other legal actions with private parties and governmental entities, particularly involving claims for infringement of patents and other intellectual property rights; and the possibility that Applied Biosystems may need to license intellectual property from third parties to avoid or settle such claims; 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.

Copyright 2005. Applera Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Applied Biosystems, Celera, and AB (Design) 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.