Celera is Name of New Genomics Company Formed by Perkin-Elmer and Dr. J. Craig Venter.

NORWALK, CT and ROCKVILLE, MD--(BW HealthWire)--August 5, 1998--

-- Initial Members Chosen for Scientific Advisory Board --

Celera Genomics Corporation is the name of the new genomics company formed by Perkin-Elmer (NYSE:PKN) and Dr. J. Craig Venter of The Institute for Genomic Research. The new company's strategy to become the definitive source for biomedical and genomics information evolves from a plan to complete the sequencing of the human genome in three years.

Celera and Dr. Venter also announced the creation of Celera's scientific advisory board and the initial appointments of Dr. Arthur L. Caplan, Dr. Arnold J. Levine, Dr. Victor A. McKusick, Dr. Richard J. Roberts, Dr. Melvin I. Simon, and Dr. Norton D. Zinder as its members. Dr. Roberts, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1993, will serve as chairman of the scientific advisory board.

Dr. Caplan is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Levine is president and chief executive officer of Rockefeller University; Dr. McKusick is university professor of medical genetics at The Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Roberts is a research director at New England Biolabs; Dr. Simon is chairman and professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology; and Dr. Zinder is John D. Rockefeller, Jr. professor at The Rockefeller University.

"We are privileged to have such distinguished individuals on the Celera scientific advisory board," said Tony L. White, Perkin-Elmer's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Their contributions to science reflect an enormous volume of knowledge and experience. They will help guide Celera as it develops knowledge- based tools that promise to transform healthcare delivery and fundamentally improve the human condition."

"The name `Celera,' derived from the word `celerity' which means swiftness of motion, mirrors the speed with which our new company intends to provide pharmaceutical companies and researchers the information contained in the complete human genome and to help enable the development of new therapies, targeted diagnostics and individualized medicine," added J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer of Celera Genomics Corporation. "The guiding hand of Celera's scientific advisory board will be instrumental in the achievement of this mission."

"The formation of Celera is the most exciting development in genomic research that I have witnessed since I entered the field," said Dr. Roberts, commenting on his appointment to the Celera scientific advisory board.

Celera Genomics Corporation is based in Rockville, Maryland. As noted above, Dr. Venter serves as the president and chief scientific officer of the new company. Mr. White serves as Celera's chairman, and Perkin-Elmer's vice president of corporate planning and business development, Peter Barrett, Ph.D., has been appointed executive vice president and chief business officer. Information about Celera is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.celera.com.

The Perkin-Elmer Corporation is a leading supplier of systems for life science research and related applications. It develops, manufactures, and markets life science systems and analytical instruments used in markets such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, forensics, environmental testing, food, agriculture, and chemical manufacturing. Headquartered in Connecticut, Perkin-Elmer had revenues of nearly $1.4 billion in fiscal 1997 and employs more than 6,000 people worldwide. Information about Perkin-Elmer is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.perkin-elmer.com or by phoning [phone].

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," "anticipate," "should," "planned," "estimated," and "potential," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company'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, the Company 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 the Company's businesses include but are not limited to (1) complexity and uncertainty regarding the development of new high-technology products; (2) loss of market share through competition; (3) introduction of competing products or technologies by other companies; (4) pricing pressures from competitors and/or customers; (5) changes in the life science or analytical instrument industries; (6) changes in the pharmaceutical, environmental, research, or chemical markets; (7) variable government funding in key geographical regions; (8) the Company's ability to protect proprietary information and technology or to obtain necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms; (9) the loss of key employees; (10) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; (11) the development of new sequencing strategies and the commercialization of information derived from sequencing operations; and (12) other factors that might be described from time to time in Perkin-Elmer's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Scientific Advisory Board Biographies

Arthur L. Caplan, Ph.D. is a renowned scholar and leading authority on the increasingly complex ethical issues surrounding biomedical advances and scientific discovery. Since 1994 Dr. Caplan has served as Director of the Center for Bioethics and as Trustee Professor of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. He is, in addition, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Engineering, Professor of Philosophy and Chief, Division of Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. Dr. Caplan is Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration. He is a prolific author and lecturer and holds graduate and postgraduate degrees from Columbia University.

Arthur J. Levine, Ph.D. is a world-renowned cancer biologist and recently became the eighth president of Rockefeller University. Previously, Dr. Levine was the Harry C. Wiess Professor of the Life Sciences at Princeton University, where he founded the University's molecular biology department during a 12-year tenure that saw the department grow to include two research laboratories and 35 faculty members. Prior to his work at Princeton, Dr. Levine was chairman at SUNY/Stony Brook School of Medicine. In addition to his reputation as a superb administrator, Dr. Levine is highly regarded as a scientist, having discovered a protein molecule that inhibits the development of cancer tumors. Dr. Levine holds a doctorate degree in microbiology from the University of Pennsylvania and conducted his postdoctoral work in virology at the California Institute of Technology.

Victor A. McKusick, MD is university professor of medical genetics at The Johns Hopkins University and a physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Previously, he was director of the division of medical genetics in the department of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. McKusick is editor-in-chief of the journal Medicine and founding editor of Genomics, the international journal of gene mapping and nucleotide sequencing emphasizing analyses of the human and other complex genomes. He served as founder president of The Human Genome Organization from 1988 to 1990.

Richard J. Roberts, Ph.D. is a research director at New England Biolabs in Beverly, Massachusetts. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1993 and is a leading pioneer in the applications of computer methods in protein and nucleic acid sequence analysis. From 1972 to 1992, Dr. Roberts held a series of senior research positions at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, including assistant director for research under Dr. J. D. Watson. Dr. Roberts holds a bachelor of science degree in chemistry and a doctorate degree in organic chemistry from the University of Sheffield in England. His postdoctoral research was conducted at Dr. J. L. Strominger's laboratory at Harvard University.

Melvin I. Simon, Ph.D. is chairman and professor, Division of Biology, at California Institute of Technology with which he has been associated since 1982. Previously, he was with the University of California, San Diego where he served as assistant professor, associate professor, and professor in the Department of Biology from 1965 to 1982. Dr. Simon serves on a number of boards including those of the Agouron Institute where he is chairman. He has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Brandeis University.

Norton D. Zinder, Ph.D. is the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. professor and head of the Laboratory of Genetics of The Rockefeller University. An internationally acclaimed expert in molecular biology, Dr. Zinder was first chairman of the U.S. National Institutes of Health's Program Advisory Committee on the Human Genome.

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