Woburn, MA (September 28, 2004) – In conjunction with the launch of its first commercial product, the Trilogy™ platform, and the beginning of its Homeland Security contract, U.S. Genomics has expanded with Cummings Properties to a new 34,000-square-foot custom-built facility at 12 Gill Street in Woburn.

A significant milestone in U.S. Genomics’ progress is the launch of the Trilogy™ platform, the Company’s first commercially available product. The Trilogy™ platform directly detects and quantifies individual molecules of DNA, RNA and proteins, without the need for amplification. Trilogy™’s initial applications are capable of directly measuring microRNA and siRNA, allowing researchers to screen their samples rapidly as well as perform validation and characterization of specific microRNAs and siRNAs of interest. The platform includes an instrument and associated reagents to support a variety of assays in a 96-well format. Currently, U.S. Genomics has more than 20 Trilogy™-based scientific collaborations in place with leading academic institutions and with diagnostic, pharmaceutical, and biotech companies.

“The expansion to our new, custom-built Cummings facility is especially gratifying,” said Stephen P. DeFalco, Chairman and CEO of U.S. Genomics. “We’re also happy that our need for growth could be met in the greater Boston area, which has an extraordinarily vibrant community for the life sciences industry.”

U.S. Genomics’ Technology Platforms U.S. Genomics is the pioneer of Single Molecule Biology instruments and assays. Single molecule biology is critical to breakthrough therapies and more accurate diagnostics for the healthcare industry, where such advances depend on understanding how cellular material functions and interacts at the molecular level. Understanding how biological pathways manifest themselves differently in normal and diseased states hinges on a researcher’s ability to detect these small molecular variances.

Most traditional detection techniques rely on amplification of a target molecule, an approach that increases assay cost and complexity and can undermine the researcher’s ability to quantitate accurately. The Trilogy™ technology’s direct detection approach is especially valuable to researchers for molecules that are difficult or impossible to amplify, such as microRNAs, siRNAs, and proteins. The Trilogy™ platform combines advances in nanofluidics, optical engineering, and novel labeling strategies for life science applications in research, drug discovery and development, and diagnostics.

In addition to the Trilogy™ technology, which is based on single molecule detection, U.S. Genomics’ direct linear DNA mapping technology combines simplicity of use with a uniquely broad spectrum of effectiveness. Using a universal reagent that can detect and identify any organism, the U.S. Genomics technology generates a genetic signature—essentially a unique genetic barcode—for any DNA. In May, the company began a $7.5 million contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop a sophisticated biological sensor for bio-defense applications, positioning U.S. Genomics to become the world’s leading provider of novel platform technology to combat bioterrorism. Under the 18-month Homeland Security contract, the company will tailor its DNA mapping technology to detect and identify any airborne pathogen, including anthrax and smallpox.

“We are delighted to see U.S. Genomics’ continued success, and very pleased to have been able to accommodate their growing specialized scientific needs as they begin commercialization,” said Stephen Drohosky of Cummings Properties. “Their new, customized space is the result of a seamless collaboration between our design team, architects, and construction staff, and U.S. Genomics’ architects and scientists.”

ABOUT U.S. GENOMICS U.S. Genomics, Woburn, Mass., intends to become the world’s leading provider of technologies that allow genetics, functional genomics, and diagnostics to be performed at the single molecule level, by offering instruments and reagents that enable researchers to understand biology directly. The technology has life sciences applications in the areas of research, drug discovery and development, and diagnostics, and longer term it will provide a platform to advance our understanding of diseases in order to tailor drug development. Please visit www.usgenomics.com.


ABOUT CUMMINGS PROPERTIES Cummings Properties is a Woburn-based real estate development company that operates more than eight million square feet of first-class commercial space in 10 communities north and west of Boston. More than 100 leading life sciences firms occupy more than 1.6 million square feet of space in Cummings Properties’ buildings. Please visit www.cummings.com.