GENE EXPRESS TECHNOLOGY RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL PATENTS.

Gene Express, Inc., Toledo, Ohio, a privately held genomic biotechnology company offering standardized, quantitative, multi-gene expression analysis products and services, has announced that its multi-gene expression technology has recently received 11 international patents. The patents, granted in the European Union, Japan and Russia, offer additional validation to the innovative technology Gene Express is using to assist academic institutions with genomic research; pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop new drugs; and clinical diagnostic companies in development of innovative and patentable molecular diagnostic tests for cancers, infectious diseases and other therapeutic areas.

"Through our patented products and services, Gene Express has the unique opportunity to enable physicians to assess the risks of cancer and other diseases, permitting early detection and diagnosis, and choosing the best course of therapy for each individual patient," said Dr. Terry Osborn, president and CEO of Gene Express. "Receiving a number of international patents in recent months validates the global strength of the Gene Express technology; we look forward to continuing to leverage this strength as we aggressively grow the company and seek additional patents throughout the world."

Gene Express offers the most advanced gene expression technology available based on patented technology invented by Gene Express Chief Scientific and Medical Consultant Dr. James Willey at the Medical College of Ohio and the University of Rochester. Gene Express holds exclusive worldwide rights on each of the patents and has been working to extend the U.S. patents internationally since 1997.

All three U.S. patents were granted for technology developed as a method for quantitative measurement of gene expression using multiplex competitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. This patented technology is so powerful that it removes false positive and false negative during gene expression tests, which can be common in other technologies. This is accomplished with a patented, standardized, quantitative, method for measuring multi-gene transcript abundance in biological samples. StaRT-PCR(tm) measures transcript abundance by utilizing gene specific primers and internal standards for each gene formulated into Standardized Mixtures of Internal Standards(tm) (SMIS) in every expression measurement.

The U.S. patents licensed by Gene Express are based on Dr. Willey's work at the Medical College of Ohio and at the University of Rochester. The patent from Medical College of Ohio has received patents in Russia and the European Union, which includes the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands and Sweden. The two U.S. patents based on Dr. Willey's work while at the University of Rochester received a combined patent in Japan. Additional international patents covering the MCO and University of Rochester technology and patents for molecular diagnostic for lung cancer are pending in several countries.

The primary product offered by Gene Express is its StaRT-PCR patented, platform technology, providing standardized, quantitative, measurement of nucleic acid copy number, enabling multi-gene measurement of transcript abundance, and/or genomic DNA copy number. Transcript abundance measurement is commonly used to measure gene expression, or activity. Gene Express markets StaRT-PCR to leading academic institutions, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and clinical diagnostic companies worldwide. Some of its customers include Pfizer, Inc., National Cancer Institute, University of Southern California and the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm).

The Gene Express Standardized Expression Measurement (SEM) Service Center(tm) has been used successfully by investigators from multiple academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Gene Express customers choose StaRT-PCR to maximizing R&D efforts and standardize gene expression measurement throughout the drug development process while successfully meeting the new FDA regulatory guidelines.

Gene expression measurement is a multi-billion dollar market that is expected to grow from $1 to $7 billion over the next five years. The existing pharmaceutical research market is more than $1 billion per year and expected to grow to $2.2 billion in the next 5 years. (Drug & Market Development Publications).

About Gene Express

Founded in 1992, Gene Express, Inc. is a privately held, commercial stage, genomic biotechnology company. Gene Express utilizes next generation, patented, quantitative, standardized multi-gene nucleic acid abundance measurement platform technology (StaRT-PCR). Gene Express markets gene expression analysis products and services offered through its Standardized Expression Measurement (SEM) Service Center.

For more information, http://www.geneexpressinc.com or call 419/893-9600.