Management Buy-out of BioReliance Heidelberg Announced

"This is a win-win situation for Invitrogen and BIOMEVA", saidBernd Brust, Vice-President and General Manager for Invitrogen Europe."Bacterial contract manufacturing was not aligned with our strategicdirection, and with the new ownership of the operation by BIOMEVA,clients will continue to be well served in the years ahead. BIOMEVAwill retain the current management and gain the flexibility toaggressively pursue opportunities as an independent business."

Over the past years, BioReliance has developed solid customerrelationships and a strong position in Europe as a cGMP-compliantContract Manufacturing Organization. BIOMEVA will continue offeringfermentation and purification services using recombinant and naturalmicroorganisms to produce Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in lots ofup to 1,000 L. There are no plans for changes to the direction of thebusiness or employees' working arrangements. Dr. Thomas Pultar willcontinue as Managing Director with the existing management team.

"For BIOMEVA, it's very much business as usual," said Dr. Pultar."Our current employees are an important part of the team and criticalto the future success of the company. We now have the opportunity toexercise the high degree of flexibility of a small company and toutilize our strengths to become even more customer-oriented in future.I'm optimistic about the enormous potential for this business. This isindeed a major opportunity for the current management and employeeteam. We have made the right decision to ensure our future andtogether we will be successful."