Integrated Genetics subsidiary, Genetic Design, awarded contract with the National Marrow Donor Program.

GREENSBORO, N.C --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Jan. 5, 1995 -- Genetic Design Inc. (GDI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Integrated Genetics (IG Laboratories Inc., NASDAQ:IGLI), has signed a multi-year contract with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).

GDI will provide HLA-DR typing for the NMDP's registry of partially typed potential donors. The announcement was made today by James C. Sparks, Ph.D., vice president of operations for GDI, in Greensboro, N.C. NMDP, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., is the nation's largest registry of potential bone marrow donors, with over 1,400,000 potential donors on file.

HLA (human lymphocyte antigen), located on chromosome 6, presents the markers which must be matched between a bone marrow donor and recipient in order for a successful transplant to occur. A total of six antigens must be tested and, under ideal circumstances, all six match in both individuals. The practice has been to test for four antigens initially, two for HLA-A and two for HLA-B, and to complete testing for HLA-DR when a serological AB match is found. The use of DNA-based testing utilizing PCR technology for HLA-DR typing markedly improves the accuracy of the testing and allows much better success in completing the match process and in reducing the potential for post-transplant patient complications.

"This project is part of an expansion of an existing project to build a larger base of completely HLA-typed donors," Patricia Coppo, COO for NMDP, said. "The NMDP's goal is to provide marrow transplants for as many patients as possible. We will accomplish this goal by increasing racial diversity of our donor file and completely typing as many donors as possible. This will decrease both search times and cost for patients and result in more patients receiving the life-saving marrow transplants they need. We are excited to have GDI as one of several labs that are participating in this project."

"We have helped to establish large numbers of HLA-typed individuals for European registries for some time," Sparks said, "so we're especially happy to be given the opportunity to contribute our knowledge and expertise to the NMDP's expansion project." Currently GDI performs around 500 patient-directed clinical HLA-DR tests per month for a large German registry and provides HLA-A, -B, and -DR testing to other European and North American registries as well.

The NMDP expects to test around 70,000 donors in 1994. With the expansion of this program in 1995, upwards of 150,000 donor tests are forecast. "The NMDP anticipates spending over $6 million on this program in 1995," Sparks said. "The volume of GDI's activity under this contract will depend largely upon the level of performance and quality exhibited by us. We expect to perform in a way that would allow us to have a substantial portion of that volume," he added.

Genetic Design Inc. is a commercial specialty genetic testing laboratory that focuses on human identification, including bone marrow donor typing and matching, paternity testing, and forensic DNA analysis. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Integrated Genetics (IG Laboratories Inc., Framingham, MA). Integrated Genetics is a majority-owned subsidiary of Genzyme Corp., Cambridge, MA.

CONTACT: Integrated Genetics

              Judith King, 508/872-8400, ext. 2513 (Media)
              or
              Sue Cogswell, 617/252-7581 (Investors)
              or
              NMDP
              Patricia Coppo, 800/526-7809