Lynx Announces Funding by the USDA for Deep Profiling of Small Rice RN

    Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

    HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2005--Lynx Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:LYNX) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded University of Delaware faculty members Drs. Blake Meyers and Pamela Green a research grant to utilize Lynx's Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS(TM)) small RNA profiling technology. The award was made by the USDA under the Cooperative State, Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) program entitled "Functional Genomics of Agriculturally Important Organisms," and this project will focus on small RNAs in rice.
    This new service agreement builds on the success of researchers at both the University of Delaware and Lynx in a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation to develop the new MPSS(TM) application. MPSS analysis of small RNAs allows for the first time the comprehensive discovery and precise quantification of small RNAs (microRNAs (miRNAs) and small-interfering-RNAs (siRNAs)) produced in a given organism. These non-coding RNAs can silence genes through a variety of mechanisms including degradation of messenger RNAs, inhibition of translation, or methylation of genomic DNA and/or modification of histones. Recent advances in silencing RNA have illustrated important biological roles for siRNAs and miRNAs.
    "This project, which uses the newly developed MPSS(TM) protocol, will be the first large scale attempt to identify all small RNA molecules expressed in rice. We will assess the diversity and abundance of these molecules under normal growth conditions and under abiotic and biotic stress. These data will be publicly available through our web-based interface for rice MPSS(TM) data," said Dr. Meyers. "This extensive set of small RNA data, along with the bioinformatics tools that we have developed for analysis and visualization, will help plant biologists understand small RNA regulation of the genome in an important crop species. Individual biologists will be able to examine the impact of small RNAs on their favorite genes of interest."

    About University of Delaware

    Located in Newark, Delaware, the University of Delaware was founded in 1743 and is a state-assisted institution of higher learning, with more than 16,000 undergraduates and nearly 3,000 graduate students. It is the major research university in Delaware. The Delaware Biotechnology Institute (DBI), a unit of the University of Delaware, is a statewide collaboration among universities, state government, and the private sector that houses faculty from diverse University of Delaware departments. It was founded to help establish Delaware as a center of excellence in biotechnology and the life sciences.

    About Lynx

    Lynx is focused on the development and application of novel genomic analysis solutions. By "novel," Lynx means next generation technology that will take the engagement of thought leaders before broader commercial acceptance can occur. Lynx's Massively Parallel Sequencing System (MPSS(TM)) consists of proprietary instrumentation, reagents and software that are used to analyze millions of DNA molecules in parallel, enabling genome structure characterization at an unprecedented level of resolution. As applied to gene expression analysis, MPSS(TM) provides comprehensive and quantitative digital information important to modern systems biology research in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agricultural industries. For more information, visit Lynx's Web site at www.lynxgen.com.
    This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements related to the identification of differentially expressed genes, the potential success of collaboration arrangements and the performance of Lynx's genomics discovery services for current and future customers and collaborators. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "predicts," "expects," "envisions," "hopes," "estimates," "intends," "will," "continue," "may," "potential," "should," "confident," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of Lynx to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks detailed from time to time in Lynx's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, as amended, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2004 and its Proxy Statement/Prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) on January 24, 2005. Lynx does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

--30--WAM/la*

CONTACT: Lynx Therapeutics, Inc. Mary L. Schramke, 510-670-9300 or Investor Contact: Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates Jody Cain (jcain@lhai.com) Bruce Voss (bvoss@lhai.com) 310-691-7100

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA DELAWARE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: EDUCATION MEDICAL DEVICES ENVIRONMENT BIOTECHNOLOGY SOURCE: Lynx Therapeutics, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005