Rubicon Genomics Provides Genome Amplification for The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Aug. 6, 2003 — Rubicon

Expansion of Genomic DNA from Multiple Populations Facilitates Disease Studies

Ann Arbor, MI, August 6, 2003 -- Rubicon Genomics, Inc. today announced an agreement with The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in Hinxton, UK, to amplify DNA for genetic studies of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has chosen Rubicon’s OmniPlex Whole Genome Amplification (WGA) to amplify DNA from 5,000 subjects participating in studies of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The amplified DNA will be shared among researchers at the Sanger Institute and their collaborators world-wide, to discover new DNA sequences that might contribute to those related diseases.

“This agreement is an important technical validation and commercial milestone for the OmniPlex™ approach,” said Dr. John Langmore, co-founder of Rubicon. “We thank the multiple groups at the Sanger Institute for their diligence in evaluating our technology during the last six months and for continuing collaborations in mutation discovery.”

Rubicon has provided custom WGA services for major pharmacuetical and institutional customers—achieving thousand- or million-fold amplification of human DNA taken from the full range of clinical samples collected by physicians and scientists, even if the samples are degraded during collection or long-term storage. Using sensitive tests for fidelity of amplification, including sequencing and heteroduplex analysis, Sanger scientists have found the quality of OmniPlex DNA to be comparable to that of natural human DNA. OmniPlex WGA creates new value in hundreds of DNA and tissue banks throughput the world by making it possible for researchers and drug companies to use archived samples to understand disease and develop new treatments. For future studies, Rubicon’s OmniPlex WGA replaces traditional collection and storage of large amounts of blood with less-costly, non-invasive collection of cheek swabs or blood spots.

Rubicon believes that OmniPlex WGA is the most accurate and robust method to amplify the entire human genome for mutation discovery, genotyping, and cytogenetics. OmniPlex is simpler, faster, more accurate, more representative and more robust than all other methods. The ability to amplify DNA >10,000-fold while retaining excellent locus and allele representation has been experimentally demonstrated across the full range of analytical platforms.

About Rubicon Genomics, Inc. Rubicon, located in Ann Arbor, MI, develops and commercializes proprietary OmniPlex™ technology for molecular diagnostics and drug development. By combining OmniPlex amplification of minute amounts of DNA and RNA with a novel method of methylation analysis, Rubicon is developing an integrated molecular diagnostic for genetic, epigenetic, and expression factors that will enable non-invasive, early detection and treatment monitoring of cancer and other diseases. More information can be found at www.rubicongenomics.com.