UPPSALA, Sweden, April 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pyrosequencing AB (Stockholm:PYROA) (Other OTC:PYRSF) today announced that the Company has extended its distribution for Corbett Research's full line of thermocycling and sample preparation products to cover Germany, France and Scandinavia.
Pyrosequencing now offers customers a more comprehensive portfolio of tools for applied genetic analysis from DNA preparation and amplification through sequence analysis. The geographic expansion enables Pyrosequencing's direct sales and support organization to provide a broader range of products and applications to their existing customers, as well as giving the sales force access to a new group of customers.
"Although it is very early in our experience with Corbett products, our initial outreach to customers in the United States has proved to be very reassuring," said Erik Wallden, President and CEO of Pyrosequencing AB. "We already see signs that the sales and service synergies of the combined offering is beginning to pay off. Customers welcome the access to a broader and complementary range of technologies and proven tools for their genomics research. As with the Corbett relationship, we will look for further opportunities to expand our offering of high quality and enabling tools."
Corbett products include the Rotor-Gene 3000, a four-channel, real-time thermocycler designed as an open-end system that supports a wide variety of chemistries. This unique system delivers ultimate temperature uniformity and extremely easy-to-use software. Corbett's CAS-1200 is a dedicated PCR workstation that can be used in conjunction with real-time or standard thermal cyclers. The workstation expedites the PCR sample preparation process and provides a high degree of accuracy and reproducibility. In addition, Corbett offers a unique and user-friendly thermocycling control system that utilizes a palm computer to program and visualize thermal cycling reactions. The hand-held device is easily programmable and allows the storing and accessing of hundreds of different cycling programs.
John Corbett, Jr., Managing Director of Bio-Molecular Holdings, the parent company of both Corbett Research and Corbett Robotics, said, "We are happy to be expanding our relationship with Pyrosequencing to include other locations where they have a direct sales and support network that can more rapidly penetrate key markets. Together we hope to achieve far greater market reach and make a stronger contribution to the advancement of applied genomics research worldwide."
About Corbett
Bio-Molecular Holdings (BMH) is an Australian-based holding company for Corbett Research Pty Limited, Corbett Robotics Pty Limited and Corbett Research (UK) Limited. The BMH group is focused on research and development, production and the marketing of scientific instrumentation for the life sciences. Corbett Research's product range consists of standard and real-time thermal cyclers that are used for amplification and detection of DNA and RNA. The Rotor-Gene is now recognized internationally as one of the best real-time thermal cyclers available; the centrifugal format provides the ultimate in temperature uniformity sample-to-sample that competitive 96 well block based systems cannot match. Other Corbett products include the Palm-Cycler and the CAS-1200, a robotics system that is designed for the preparation of DNA/RNA samples for real-time PCR. The Web address is www.corbettresearch.com.
About Pyrosequencing AB
Pyrosequencing AB develops, manufactures and sells complete solutions for rapid applied genetic analysis based on its proprietary Pyrosequencing(TM) technology, a broadly applicable DNA sequencing technique. Pyrosequencing is a leader in the global market in Applied Genomics with nearly 250 systems sold to major pharmaceutical and biotech companies and prestigious research institutions worldwide. The Company actively collaborates with industry leaders to develop clinical applications of the technology for disease diagnosis, clinical prognosis and pharmacogenomics testing.
Pyrosequencing products include the bench-top PSQ(TM)96, PSQ(TM)96MA and PSQ(TM)HS 96A Systems, all of which utilize proprietary software and reagent kits. Among Pyrosequencing's customers are AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Schering-Plough, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the NIH, the CDC, the Karolinska Institute, Genzyme Corp., Biogen, Oxagen, NASA, DuPont Agriculture, The London IDEAS Genetic Knowledge Park, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The 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.
PYROSEQUENCING AB: Erik Wallden, President and CEO erik.wallden@pyrosequencing.com Phone: +46 70 326 98 70
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net
The following files are available for download:
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/04/10/20030410BIT00990/wkr0001.doc
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/04/10/20030410BIT00990/wkr0002.pdf