FOSTER CITY, CA - Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, announced the SNPlexTM system, a reagent and software product designed to allow researchers to conduct ultra high throughput genotyping using the Applied Biosystems 3730xl and 3730 DNA Analyzers. This genotyping product could enable production scale laboratories to analyze more than one million genotypes per instrument per day, at an expected cost as low as one cent or less per genotype.

The SNPlexTM system uses multiplexing (multiple reactions in a single tube or well) to rapidly identify large numbers of target genetic sequences in a single biological sample. It is based on Applied Biosystems' proprietary oligonucleotide ligation reagent and electrophoretic detection technology. This technology is also employed in the Celera Diagnostics cystic fibrosis test, which has become one of the leading tests for detection of mutations associated with this disease.

The SNPlexTM system will operate on the same instrument platform widely used for sequencing and linkage mapping, and can be used with both customer-identified SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms), and with those identified by Applied Biosystems as part of the Applera Genomics Initiative. The combination of instruments, reagents, and software is expected to offer one of the most powerful and cost effective genotyping systems available. Collaborative projects with customers are underway, with broader product release expected by mid-calendar 2003.

"We believe the SNPlexTM system can offer significant advantages in cost and flexibility compared to array-based approaches that rely on ultra high throughput multiplexing schemes," said Michael W. H
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9-Jan-2003