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ParAllele Press Release

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Nicholas J. Naclerio, Ph.D.
ParAllele BioScience

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PARALLELE PROVIDES NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE WITH EARLY ACCESS TO MEGALLELE" SNP GENOTYPING PLATFORM

South San Francisco, CA, May 12, 2004 - ParAllele BioScience, a provider of complete solutions for the comprehensive study of genetic variation, announced today that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has become an early access customer for the company's MegAllele" SNP genotyping platform. Based on ParAllele's proprietary Molecular Inversion Probe (MIP) technology, the MegAllele" SNP genotyping kits will enable researchers to screen thousands to tens of thousands of genetic markers, called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in a single laboratory reaction with a single molecular probe per marker.

As part of the early access program, ParAllele will supply the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity (LGD) at NCI-Frederick, Maryland, with proprietary MegAllele" reagent kits, MegAllele" software, and the necessary third-party instrumentation configured to perform highly multiplexed genotyping. The MegAllele" technology was recommended by Dr. Stephen J. O'Brien, Director of LGD, for disease-mapping in admixed populations, as well as for several other SNP genotyping projects. In addition to the NCI, the Baylor College of Medicine has successfully used the MegAllele SNP genotyping kits to perform high throughput genotyping for the International HapMap Project.

"Over the past year, ParAllele has successfully provided comprehensive gene discovery services through our collaborations with pharmaceutical and academic partners. Rapid product adoption has laid the foundation for the second prong of our business strategy - the commercialization of our MegAllele" SNP genotyping kits," said Nick Naclerio, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of ParAllele. "We are pleased to provide the NCI with early access to our new 'out of the box' SNP genotyping solutions for comprehensive genomic analysis. We are scaling up our production capabilities in anticipation of the commercial launch of our MegAllele" product line in the coming months, including a move to larger facilities."

About MegAllele"

MegAllele" SNP genotyping kits are based on ParAllele's proprietary Molecular Inversion Probe (MIP) technology. This novel technology enables users of MegAllele" kits to genotype up to tens of thousands of SNPs in a single assay. In contrast to conventional screening approaches, ParAllele's SNP genotyping technology eliminates the need to amplify the DNA segment around each SNP prior to analysis through circularizing intra-molecular interactions. The use of a single probe per SNP increases the accuracy of the assay by ensuring that the test only reports information about a known target sequence among the billions of possible sequences found in the human genome. The high degree of multiplexing, combined with the increased accuracy, results in decreasing costs with increasing scale by greatly reducing sample consumption, time and labor and eliminating potential sample handling errors.

The MegAllele" SNP genotyping kits and underlying Molecular Inversion Probe technology have been validated in the International HapMap Project and through ParAllele's pharmaceutical and academic collaborations. The MegAllele" kits to be used at the NCI incorporate ParAllele's TrueTag" technology. The TrueTag" technology is designed to allow information from any MegAllele" assay to be decoded on a universal microarray. The MegAllele" platform will include both standard panels of SNPs, as well as kits which can be configured by ParAllele for specific panels of SNPs requested by the customer.

About ParAllele Bioscience

ParAllele Bioscience is accelerating healthcare breakthroughs by providing comprehensive genetic discovery solutions to the life science research, pharmaceutical and diagnostic sectors. Its products and services utilize a unique lab-in-a-tube approach that leverages novel biochemical processes rather than complex instrumentation to discover and analyze minute variations in the human genome. The understanding of how subtle genetic variations contribute to disease risk, prognosis and drug response will lead to new and more effective drugs, predictive diagnosis, and the ability to better tailor therapies to individual patients. Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, ParAllele BioScience was founded by a team of leading researchers from the Stanford Genome Technology Center and Uppsala University. The company's investors include Abingworth Management, Index Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Versant Ventures. For more information about ParAllele, please visit the company's website at: parallelebio.com.
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