UPPSALA, Sweden, Dec. 04, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pyrosequencing AB (Stockholm:PYRO A) announces that the extraordinary shareholders' meeting on December 3, 2003 decided, in accordance with the Board's proposal, that Pyrosequencing AB will change its name to Biotage AB. The reason for the name change is that Pyrosequencing is the name of the technology that the Company originally built its operations on. The new name Biotage will instead represent the new company, which has been built during the fall 2003.
In the new company, systems for genomic analysis coexist with systems for chemical processes based on microwave technology and a complete range of purification and separation systems. The company aims to be market leader and to have a technology leadership position in each of its niche areas.
The Company will change its stock exchange identification to BIOT as soon as the name change is registered by PRV.
Pyrosequencing, soon to be Biotage, accelerates the drug discovery and development process and increases the knowledge of the importance of the genetic make-up by providing complete solutions for medicinal chemistry research and applied genetic analysis. Through its merger with Personal Chemistry the company has further strengthened its customer base of commercial and academic partners, which include the world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies and prestigious academic institutes such as the US National Institutes of Health, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Sweden's Karolinska Institute. Headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden, Pyrosequencing has facilities in Boston, USA, Cambridge, UK and Constance, Germany. After the acquisition of Biotage the company will have approx. 275 employees. Pro-forma the new group had sales of 427 MSEK in 2002. The company is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. Website: 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.
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