Pyrosequencing Expands Network of Collaborators for Infectious Diseases; Partners Will Develop Tests for Rapid, Accurate Typing of Meningitis-Causing Bacterium.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

UPPSALA, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2001

Pyrosequencing AB's (OMX: PYROa.) Molecular Diagnostics Business Unit and Dr. Stuart C. Clarke of the Scottish Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory, Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, today announced a research collaboration to investigate applications for Pyrosequencing(TM) in the characterization of the infectious bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis).

N. meningitidis is the leading cause of meningococcal disease worldwide, which includes infections such as meningitis and septicemia. Existing methods of analysis are not always adequate for distinguishing between different strains of N. meningitides. In order to detect and treat emerging epidemics, there is a critical need for rapid and accurate methods to characterize these bacteria.

"Our laboratory was the first in the world to automate the sequence typing procedure that is routinely used in Scotland to genotype Neisseria meningitidis," said Dr. Stuart Clarke, Director of the Scottish Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory, Glasgow. "As leaders in the area of genotyping automation, we receive hundreds of requests to characterize N. meningitidis each year. Based on our experience with other genotyping technologies, we believe Pyrosequencing(TM) has clear advantages in simplicity, cost and speed. We will be able to rapidly genotype strains of the bacteria and develop tests to trace outbreaks of disease as well as to advance important epidemiology studies."

The research collaboration involves developing new genotyping applications of Pyrosequencing(TM) using the Company's PSQ 96 System to identify and distinguish N. meningitidis in clinical samples. This will be followed by validation studies that will compare a large number of clinical samples that have been analyzed by traditional methods with those analyzed using Pyrosequencing technology. The genotyping analysis will detect both single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and short sequence stretches in N. meningitidis genes: two broad capabilities of Pyrosequencing technology.

"Our partnership with Dr. Clarke and the well-respected Scottish Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory is a powerful example of how Pyrosequencing technology may be used to identify and genotype pathogenic bacteria," said Jerry Williamson, Molecular Diagnostics Business Unit Head at Pyrosequencing AB. "This will add to a growing repertoire of applications of Pyrosequencing technology that are well suited for molecular diagnostics. We will continue to aggressively pursue similar relationships with leading clinicians and institutions to develop additional molecular diagnostics applications."

Pyrosequencing AB formed a Molecular Diagnostics Business Unit earlier this year to establish the Company's proprietary technology as a standard platform for clinical genetic analysis. Capitalizing on Pyrosequencing's worldwide market leadership in applied genetic analysis, the Molecular Diagnostics Business Unit is pursuing a global strategy to identify new diagnostic product opportunities, develop clinically useful molecular diagnostic assays, and collaborate with academic and commercial partners in the fields of disease diagnosis, clinical prognosis and pharmacogenomics.

About the Scottish Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory

The Scottish Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory is an acknowledged leader in the field of test development and laboratory confirmation of meningococcal and pneumococcal disease. The laboratory was the first in the world to automate the multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) procedure that is now used routinely in Scotland as a tool for the genotypic characterization of meningococci. The laboratory is thus leading the area of genotyping automation and high-throughput DNA sequencing.

About Pyrosequencing AB

Pyrosequencing AB develops, manufactures and sells complete solutions for rapid applied genetic analysis based on its proprietary Pyrosequencing(TM) Technology, a simple-to-use DNA sequencing technique. Pyrosequencing leads the global market in Applied Genomics with over 100 systems sold to major pharmaceutical and biotech companies and prestigious research institutions worldwide.

Pyrosequencing(TM) is broadly applicable for the analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and for the identification and quantification of short DNA sequences used in bacterial and viral typing. The Company's Molecular Diagnostics Business is establishing collaborations with industry leaders to identify new product opportunities in disease diagnosis, clinical prognosis and pharmacogenomics.

The Company's products include the bench-top PSQtm96 System and a high-throughput PTPtm system which utilize proprietary software and reagent kits. Among Pyrosequencing's customers are AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, the NIH, the Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention, the Karolinska Institute, Biogen, Inc., Oxagen, Ltd., and DuPont Agriculture. The Company's Web address is www.pyrosequencing.com.

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," and "should," among others. These forward- looking statements are based on Pyrosequencing'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, Pyrosequencing 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. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations), variability of operating results, the commercial development of the DNA sequencing and genomics market, nucleic acid-based molecular diagnostics market, and genetic vaccination and gene therapy markets, competition, rapid or unexpected changes in technologies, fluctuations in demand for Pyrosequencing's products (including seasonal fluctuations), difficulties in successfully adapting the Company's products to integrated solutions and producing such products, and the Company's ability to identify and develop new products and to differentiate its products from competitors.