Applied Biosystems and QIAGEN Announce PCR Technologies License Agreement

Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an AppleraCorporation business and QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ:QGEN)(Frankfurt, PrimeStandard:QIA) today announced that they have entered into a licenseagreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Applied Biosystems hasgranted a license to QIAGEN under the expanded Applied Biosystems PCR(polymerase chain reaction) licensing program. The expanded programincludes patents for real-time PCR and other important PCR-relatedtechnologies not licensed under the previous PCR licensing program.Financial terms of the license were not disclosed.

"QIAGEN is another major licensee under the expanded program,which was initiated in June," said Catherine M. Burzik, President ofApplied Biosystems. "Interest in our expanded PCR licensing programfurther demonstrates the value of our intellectual property for thisfundamental technology in research and applied testing markets."

"Real-time PCR is the key technology in the rapidly growing lifescience research markets. With this additional license covering theusage of real-time PCR, QIAGEN is very well positioned as a leadingmanufacturer and supplier of high quality PCR reagents and kits inthis field," said Peer M. Schatz, QIAGEN's CEO. "The license agreementwith Applied Biosystems enhances QIAGEN's value as a leading supplierof a broad range of real-time PCR technologies which are optimized foruse with our market and technology leading preanalytical solutions."

The Applied Biosystems expanded PCR licensing program includeslicenses to the foundational patens as well as the two leadingreal-time PCR techniques known as the TaqMan(R) assay and theDye-Intercalation Assay method. It also includes patents covering animproved form of the Taq polymerase enzyme (AmpliTaq Gold(R)technology) used to initiate PCR and referred to as Hot-Start. Theexpanded program follows an agreement signed in May 2005 betweenApplera and Hoffmann-La Roche for Applied Biosystems to be the solelicensor of Roche patents covering reagents and methods for practicingPCR and real-time PCR in the life science research and applied fields.

Although the foundational patents covering the PCR process expiredin the United States in March 2005 and will expire elsewhere in March2006, numerous other patents related to PCR remain in force. Thesesurviving patents cover, for example, enzyme compositions, kits, andmethods such as reverse transcription and DNA sequencing. AppliedBiosystems will continue to offer licenses to these patents.

PCR, an enabling technology for life science and other research,is a process in which a segment of a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) iscopied or "amplified" so that the nucleic acid can be more readilyanalyzed. In real-time PCR, the amplified DNA is detected during,rather than at the end of, the PCR process, a feature that facilitatesgreater accuracy in important applications, including gene expressionquantitation and genotyping.

About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems

Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The AppliedBiosystems Group serves the life science industry and researchcommunity by developing and marketing instrument-based systems,consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools toanalyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins tomake scientific discoveries and develop new pharmaceuticals. AppliedBiosystems' products also serve the needs of some markets outside oflife science research, which we refer to as "applied markets," such asthe fields of: human identity testing (forensic and paternitytesting); biosecurity, which refers to products needed in response tothe threat of biological terrorism and other malicious, accidental,and natural biological dangers; and quality and safety testing, forexample in food and the environment. Applied Biosystems isheadquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of nearly $1.8billion during fiscal 2005. The Celera Genomics Group (NYSE:CRA) isengaged principally in the discovery and development of targetedtherapeutics for cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. CeleraGenomics is leveraging its proteomic, bioinformatic, and genomiccapabilities to identify and validate drug targets, and to discoverand develop small molecule therapeutics. It is also seeking to advancetherapeutic antibody and selected small molecule drug programs incollaboration with global technology and market leaders. CeleraDiagnostics, a 50/50 joint venture between Applied Biosystems andCelera Genomics, is focused on discovery, development, andcommercialization of diagnostic products. Information about AppleraCorporation, including reports and other information filed by thecompany with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available athttp://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800.762.6923. Informationabout Applied Biosystems is available athttp://www.appliedbiosystems.com/.

About QIAGEN:

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company with subsidiaries inGermany, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland,France, Italy, Australia, Norway, Austria, Canada, China, Sweden, andthe Netherlands believes it is the world's leading provider ofinnovative enabling technologies and products for moleculardiagnostics solutions and preanalytical sample preparation for theseparation, purification and handling of nucleic acids and proteins.QIAGEN has developed a comprehensive portfolio of more than 320proprietary, consumable products for nucleic acid and proteinseparation, purification and handling, nucleic acid amplification, aswell as automated instrumentation, synthetic nucleic acid products andrelated services. QIAGEN's products are sold in more than 42 countriesthroughout the world to academic research markets and to leadingpharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In addition, QIAGEN ispositioning its products for sale into developing commercial markets,including applied testing markets, clinical research, nucleicacid-based molecular diagnostics, and genetic vaccination and genetherapy. QIAGEN employs more than 1,500 people worldwide. Furtherinformation on QIAGEN can be found at http://www.qiagen.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking.These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrasessuch as "believe," "expect," "should," "anticipate," and "planned,"among others. These forward-looking statements are based on AppleraCorporation's current expectations. The Private Securities LitigationReform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-lookingstatements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe harbor,Applera Corporation notes that a variety of factors could cause actualresults and experience to differ materially from the anticipatedresults or other expectations expressed in such forward-lookingstatements. These factors include but are not limited to: (1) rapidlychanging technology could adversely affect demand for AppliedBiosystems' products, and its business is dependent on development andcustomer acceptance of new products; (2) risks associated withlawsuits, arbitrations, investigations, and other legal actions withprivate parties and governmental entities, particularly involvingclaims for infringement of patents and other intellectual propertyrights; and the possibility that Applied Biosystems may need tolicense intellectual property from third parties to avoid or settlesuch claims; and (3) other factors that might be described from timeto time in Applera Corporation's filings with the Securities andExchange Commission. All information in this press release is as ofthe date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty toupdate this information, including any forward-looking statements,unless required by law.

Copyright 2005. Applera Corporation. All Rights Reserved. AppliedBiosystems, Celera, and AB (Design) are registered trademarks, andApplera, Celera Diagnostics, and Celera Genomics are trademarks ofApplera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U. S. and/or certainother countries.