VYSIS SHIPS GENOSENSOR MICROARRAY SYSTEM FOR GENOMIC RESEARCH.

Vysis, Inc. (Nasdaq: VYSI), Downers Grove, Ill., has initiated customer shipments of its GenoSensor Microarray System. Initial placements have been made at customer sites in North America, Europe and Asia through Vysis' direct sales efforts and an extensive distribution network in 59 countries. Designed to simultaneously detect chromosomal amplifications or deletions of multiple genes in various human cancers, the Vysis GenoSensor Microarray System is the industry's first commercially available system that will enable researchers to rapidly identify and discover key genomic correlations in disease occurrence and outcome.

"The Vysis GenoSensor System has the potential to provide major breakthroughs in the understanding of cancer genetics," said Dr. Jerzy Lasota, M.D., Ph.D., molecular pathologist at the Department of Soft Tissue Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC and one of Vysis' first GenoSensor customers. "A key advantage of this technology is that it enables one to look at a segment of the human genome to see whether or not there have been key primary events such as a gene amplification or deletion that are now known to be directly associated with the development and progression of cancer."

Utilizing Vysis' patented technology, the GenoSensor Microarray System includes genomic microarrays, reagents, instrumentation and analysis software. The system allows Vysis to compete in the rapidly expanding market for microarray products. Used in conjunction with expression microarrays, GenoSensor genomic microarrays can help researchers determine not only if a gene is present, but also whether the gene is found in abnormally high numbers, and if abnormal gene amplification is correlated with overexpression of an important protein.

"The GenoSensor Microarray System represents the second major technology platform that we have delivered to the marketplace." said John L. Bishop, president and chief executive officer of Vysis, Inc. "As the field of genomic research identifies new genes, correlations of these newly discovered genes to disease occurrence and outcomes will need to occur before clinical utility can be developed. We expect the GenoSensor Microarray System to allow Vysis to participate in this process thereby giving us a competitive advantage in the development of new clinical tests for genomic disease management," added Bishop.

The first commercially available microarray for the GenoSensor System, called the AmpliOnc(trademark) I, simultaneously detects abnormal increases in gene copy number from 58 different genes. Future GenoSensor Microarrays will add the ability to detect deletions of genes in addition to abnormal increases. Other microarrays will be developed that detect chromosomal aberrations in pre and post-natal applications.

More information about the GenoSensor System along with a complete listing of the genes present on AmpliOnc I can be found on the Vysis web site at www.vysis.com

Vysis, Inc. of Downers Grove, Ill., is a genomic disease management company that develops, commercializes and markets clinical products providing information critical to the evaluation and management of cancer, prenatal disorders and other genetic diseases. The company has direct sales operations in the United States and Europe, a marketing partnership in Japan with Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., and a worldwide distribution network.