Celera Genomics Completes Sequencing Phase Of Drosophila Genome Project; Sequencing of Human Genome Begins.

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--Sept. 9, 1999--

Celera Genomics (NYSE:CRA), a PE Corporation business, announced today that it has finished the sequencing phase in deciphering the genome of Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly. Over 1.8 billion base pairs--letters of genetic code--were sequenced in completing the sequencing phase. Celera began to sequence the genome of Drosophila and deliver data to its subscribers in May 1999. By comparison, the first genome of a free living organism, Haemophilus influenzae, consisting of 2 million letters of genetic code took one year to complete, and other early genomes not using Celera's whole genome shotgun strategy took over a decade to complete.

Celera now turns all its sequencing resources towards the sequencing phase of the human genome.

"Our team has done a great job producing the Drosophila sequence. It has been an unparalleled effort," said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer of Celera. "The next step for the Drosophila genome project will be our computational assembly of the sequence into the genome and annotation of the data. While sequence assembly is a challenging process, we are optimistic about our ability to complete this phase in the near future. The completion of Drosophila will validate the effectiveness of Celera's whole genome shotgun approach in deciphering complex genomes."

Celera will begin making sequence data available to the public in October 1999, and publication in collaboration with the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project (BDGP) will occur in early 2000.

"The successful and timely completion of the sequencing phase of Drosophila would not have been possible without the superb performance of PE Biosystems ABI PRISM(R) 3700 DNA Sequencers," said Mark Adams, Ph.D., vice president for genome programs at Celera. "Their sequencing efficiency was outstanding and the length of reads exceeded our expectations."

The whole genome shotgun technique used by Celera to decode this and other genomes has several phases. The first phase involves the creation of libraries of DNA that are shredded into small fragments. The second phase entails the use of sequencing machines for the decoding of these fragments. The third phase, which Celera is now starting, is the computational assembly of the sequenced fragments into their proper order using computers employing a sophisticated mathematical algorithm. Celera has entered a strategic alliance with Compaq Computer Corporation to employ Alpha-based, true 64-bit computer systems that deliver speed and performance advantages for such computations.

After the genome is assembled, regions of the genome that are not amenable to automated sequencing will be addressed. These gaps are closed using special sequencing techniques. This fourth phase, often referred to as finishing, along with the library creation are being done in collaboration with the BDGP. When these steps are completed by year-end, a series of scientific papers describing the results will be submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal.

Drosophila has been a model organism in biological research for more than 80 years. Its DNA sequence, as well as its morphological, physiological, and behavioral complexity, makes it the closest invertebrate research organism to humans. The annotated sequence of the Drosophila genome should provide an invaluable key to understanding the sequence of the human genome and human biology.

Despite the fact that Drosophila is a much-studied organism, Celera identified thousands of new genes in commercially important protein families such as kinases, ion channels, secreted proteins, and G-protein coupled receptors during the sequencing phase. Historically, members of these protein families have proven to be valuable in the discovery of new therapeutics and insecticides. Celera scientists estimate that during the early period of its human genome sequencing they will be discovering many new genes from among the 1,000 to 3,000 genes that will be identified per day.

Celera's mission is to become the definitive source of genomic and related agricultural and medical information. Users of Celera's information, available on a subscription basis to academic and commercial institutions, will have the ability to view, browse and analyze data in an integrated way that will assist scientists in accelerating their understanding of the human and other organisms' genetic code.

PE Corporation currently comprises two operating groups. PE Biosystems Group, with sales of $1.1 billion during fiscal 1999, supplies instrument systems, reagents, software and related services to the life science industry and research community. Celera Genomics Group, a newly formed business unit, intends to become the definitive source of genomic and related agricultural and medical information. PE Corporation is headquartered in Connecticut. Information about Celera Genomics is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.celera.com or by phoning 240.453.3000.

The BDGP is a consortium of research groups working at the University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Baylor College of Medicine, and Carnegie Institution of Washington. It is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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," "planned," "estimated," and "potential," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on PE 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, PE 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. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the operations, performance, development, and results of Celera Genomics' businesses include but are not limited to (1) early stage of operations; (2) no precedent for Celera Genomics' business plan; (3) need to manage rapid growth; (4) uncertainty of successful integration of GenScope and AgGen; (5) uncertainty of sequencing strategy; (6) uncertainty of successful operation of new sequencers and sequencing operations; (7) uncertainty of polymorphism data; (8) initial reliance on pharmaceutical industry; (9) anticipated future losses and uncertainty of operating results; (10) high dependence on key employees; (11) uncertain protection of intellectual property and proprietary rights; (12) adverse effect of public disclosure of genomic sequence data; (13) highly competitive business; (14) uncertainty of success of Year 2000 compliance; and (15) other factors that might be described from time to time in PE Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.