Dade Behring's New Dimension Xpand Plus Integrated System Provides Laboratories with Flexible Choices, Small ''Footprint''.

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Building upon the success of its Dimension(R) Xpand(R) System, the only chemistry analyzer to offer true integration of chemistry and immunochemistry testing for the low-volume laboratory, Dade Behring (NASDAQ:DADE) will begin to offer laboratories the Dimension(R) Xpand(R) Plus System, a second generation integrated analyzer. The Xpand Plus analyzer takes the proven design of the Xpand system, with its extensive menu and significant on-board capability, to the next level of excellence by offering more automated features. With the same small footprint as the Xpand analyzer, the enhanced instrumentation offers the clinical laboratory improved productivity and efficiency, while maintaining a simple, flexible, and highly capable design.

"The features offered to customers on the Dimension Xpand Plus analyzer demonstrate our responsiveness to real customer needs and our leadership in offering flexible, customized solutions to our customers around the world," said Jim Reid-Anderson, chairman, president and CEO, Dade Behring. "In our industry, true innovation involves practical, cost-efficient design relevant to the day-to-day challenges of clinical laboratories."

"A key advantage of the Xpand Plus integrated chemistry system is that it has the same capabilities of the mid-volume Dimension RxL Max(TM) integrated system, with a reduced throughput. It offers the same broad test menu, the largest on-board capacity in the market and built-in automation. This kind of innovation helps address the labor challenges plaguing laboratories today," said Antoinette Perkins, Marketing Product Manager.

"By providing multiple test results from one patient sample and one instrument, the Xpand Plus system helps meet the productivity needs of today's lab, where fewer professionals are available to process an increasing number of tests. This system is a great example of how incrementally innovative design advances work to meet the automation needs of today's labs."

The new Xpand Plus integrated chemistry analyzer complements the productivity enhancement features found on the RxL Max(TM) analyzer, and provides customers with the following:

--The same breadth of menu, and reagents: with more than 85 frequently ordered tests, effectively impacting laboratory efficiency and on-board accessibility

--Best-in-class STAT sample handling

--Sample Integrity Analysis for hemolysis, icterus, and lipemia, offering automatic, customer-programmable sample integrity analysis and documentation without negatively compromising throughput and removing all subjectivity from result integrity

--Automatic proactive monitoring of critical systems and quick access to samples and results, positively impacting laboratory metrics in delivering improved turn-around time

--A flat touch screen monitor with a new articulating arm and keyboard tray to provide improved ergonomics and ease of use

--On-line double conversion uninterrupted power supply (UPS), ensuring continued processing and delivery of results.

With 2003 revenues of more than $1.4 billion, Dade Behring is the world's largest company dedicated solely to clinical diagnostics. It offers a wide range of products, systems and services designed to meet the day-to-day needs of labs, delivering innovative solutions to customers and enhancing the quality of life for patients. Additional company information is available on the internet at www.dadebehring.com.