Xtrana and Alpha Innotech sign reverse merger agreement.

Broomfield, CO and San Leandro, CA 12/14/04 -- DNA assay company Xtrana and imaging and array company Alpha Innotech announced that they have entered into a merger agreement. Under the terms of the reverse merger transaction, Alpha Innotech stockholders will receive Xtrana common stock and will own approximately 83% of the new company and Xtrana will own the remaining 17%. Xtrana will also loan Alpha Innotech $500,000. "As a public company, we believe Alpha Innotech Corporation will be able to access new resources to take the company to the next level of growth," said Alpha Innotech CEO Haseeb Chaudhry. Mr. Chaudhry will be CEO of the merged company which will be named Alpha Innotech. The board of directors will be comprised of two current Xtrana board members and four Alpha Innotech board members. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2005. Following the sale of its intellectual property to Applied Biosystems earlier this year (see IBO 2/29/04), Xtrana's sales decreased 90% in the first nine months of this year to $102,000.

After selling its intellectual property, Xtrana had been looking for a suitable merger partner to keep from liquidating its assets. In September, the company broke off talks with Aduromed. Founded in 1992, Alpha Innotech became profitable in 1993, according to company's website. Its product lines include the FluorChem and AlphaImager brands. By becoming a public company, Alpha Innotech could to be able to raise new funding in order to expand its business.