STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Aug. 11, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Biotage has received the company's largest single order to date. It includes 31 instruments and totals approx. 15 MSEK. The customer is one of the world's major pharmaceutical companies. The instruments, which originate from the recently acquired company Argonaut, will be used by chemists to enhance the processes used in the development of pharmaceuticals.
"It's encouraging that we have received an order of this magnitude so soon after the acquisition of Argonaut," says Jeff Bork, president and CEO of Biotage AB.
The instruments will enable the scientists to simulate a number of processes under different conditions and to move from laboratory scale to production scale. The ordered instruments will be installed at the customer's plants in the US and Europe during 2005.
"We are seeing an increased interest worldwide in the pharmaceutical industry towards tools that reduce bottlenecks for process development and full-scale production. As Medicinal Chemistry accelerates the hit-to-lead process through automation, the emphasis now moves toward getting NCEs into clinical trials," says David Patteson, president of Biotage, Discovery Chemistry Group.
The instruments included in the order are Advantage Series(R) 2410 Personal Screening Synthesizers, Advantage Series(R) 3400 Multi-reactor Process Chemistry Workstations and Endeavor(R) Parallel Catalyst-screening Instruments.
Biotage AB Kungsgatan 76 SE-75318 Uppsala Tel+46 18 56 59 00
About Biotage
Biotage is a global company active in life science research with strong technologies, a broad range of operations and a long-term view of the market. The company offers solutions, knowledge and experience in the areas of genetic analysis and medicinal chemistry. Customers include the world's top 30 pharmaceutical companies, 20 largest biotech companies and leading academic institutes. The company is headquartered in Uppsala and has offices in the US, Japan, UK and several other European countries. Biotage has approx. 340 employees and had pro-forma sales of approx. 500 MSEK in 2004. Biotage is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. Website: www.biotage.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 Biotage'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, Biotage 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 microwave synthesis and flash purification in the drug discovery market, 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 Biotage'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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-0- Contact: Jeff Bork, President and CEO Tel: +46 734 22 16 60, jeff.bork@biotage.se David Patteson, President of Biotage, Discovery Chemistry Group Tel: +1 434 220 26 2622, DPatteson@biotage.com www.biotage.com