Agreement to Develop Advanced Surfaces for DNA Synthesis and Display

NOVATO, CA (January 24, 2001) - In a joint statement issued today, Dr. Ronald M. Cook (President and CEO of Biosearch Technologies, Inc.) and Dr. N. Joe Maeji (CEO of Polymerat Pty. Ltd, Brisbane, Australia) announced the signing of a joint research and development project to develop advanced tools for membrane-based DNA synthesis and high density array manufacture.

The project will link Polymerat's combinatorial polymer chemistry methods and materials science expertise with Biosearch's DNA synthesis and fluorophore labeling technology for the development of new formats for DNA synthesis and display. Phase 1 of the project will focus on developing high-throughput membranes and optimized surface modification chemistries to enable highly efficient DNA synthesis in situ. Phase 2 will use the technology developed in Phase 1 by applying it to the development of three-dimensional, high-density array films optimized for genetic analysis. It is expected that these three-dimensional array films will significantly enhance detection sensitivity and dynamic range in a variety of assays based on DNA hybridization.

Biosearch Technologies (a privately held company founded by Drs. Ronald M. Cook and Derek Hudson) is a leading supplier of proprietary reagents, synthesis supports and specialty chemicals for genomics and proteomics R&D. BTI is an innovator in the design and synthesis of advanced reporter dye—quencher systems offering custom synthesis of multi-labeled fluorogenic probes for quantitative PCR, SNP discovery, detection & scoring, spectral genotyping and library screening.

Drs. N. Joe Maeji, Firas Rasoul and Geoffrey Wickham founded Polymerat Pty. Ltd with venture capital funding provided by CM Capital Investments, Brisbane, Australia. Polymerat has expertise in the high-throughput, combinatorial synthesis of surface-modified polymers and the screening of these materials for optimum performance in chemical and biological applications. Polymerat intends to make a major leap forward in understanding the detailed nature of molecular interactions involved in solid phase applications, such as high-throughput synthesis, reagent, ligand and biomolecule localization and display, chromatography, etc.

Biosearch Technologies, Inc., 81 Digital Drive, Novato, CA 94949-5750. Tel: 415-883-8400; Fax: 415-883-8488.