Sequenom Opens Eastern U.S. Operations Office

San Diego-based Sequenom, Inc. today took another step forward in its transition from an R&D company to an industrial genomics product company with the opening of its East Coast Operations in Boston, MA.

The establishment of this new office comes just two months after the Company introduced its DNA MassArray Automated Process Line (APL), which Sequenom hopes to commercialize by mid-1999. MassArray APL, a high-throughput industrial-scale DNA analytical system, is designed to meet the needs of genomics-based product development programs.

Along with its offices in Hamburg, Germany and San Diego, Sequenom's Boston branch will provide the firm with complete customer coverage and support in Europe and the United States for its DNA MassArray systems. According to Hubert Koester, Sequenom's president and CEO: "The addition of the East Coast office will allow Sequenom to generate revenue more effectively by establishing strategic partners and expanding its DNA MassArray customer base with the major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies located in the Eastern United States. Sequenom will begin marketing two DNA MassArray systems by mid-1999: the DNA MassArray APL, which is fully automated and can process 10,000 or more DNA samples per day, and the DNA MassArray Basic System, a modular, semi-automated system specifically designed for research and diagnostic facilities with lower throughput requirements. Over the next six months, we'll be staffing each of our offices with sales and support personnel in advance of these product launches."

Sequenom has named Daniel Little, a PhD chemist, as director of East Coast Operations. Little will manage Sequenom's East Coast collaboration and customer support activities from the new Boston office. Before taking his new assignment, Little was the technology expert within Sequenom's Business Development group, a role he will continue to fill from Boston. "Dan's primary goals will be to build a network of strategic partners, develop and oversee the collaboration support team, and establish a demonstration lab in the Boston area," said Toni Schuh, executive VP of Business Development and Marketing at Sequenom.

MassArray technology unites high-fidelity genetic assays with a proprietary, miniaturized DNA array (called the SpectroChip) and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Figure 1: SpectroChip, which contains up to 1000 sample sites, allows multiple analyses of genomic information. Unlike other chip-based analyzers, results obtained using DNA MassArray, are highly reproducible.

This approach overcomes the high cost and low throughput limits of gel-based analytical systems, while providing the individually correct results not possible with analytical schemes based solely on differential hybridization or gel electrophoresis. Alleles are unambiguously identified based on the molecular weight of the DNA molecule generated by the primer extension reactions. DNA MassArray APL, which was launched in September 1998 at Sequenom's Hamburg (Germany) facility, is capable of system-wide and test-specific quality assurance monitoring. A second system will be operational at the Company's San Diego headquarters in the first quarter 1999.

Figure 2: A mass spectrum obtained with DNA MassArray

APL system hardware will be assembled, distributed and serviced by instrument companies with whom Sequenom has partnered. APL system consumables, including reagents and the Company's proprietary SpectroChip, as well as analytical software, will be provided by Sequenom. The APL system is designed to comply with Good Manufacturing Practices as well as FDA regulatory and ISO 9000 registration standards. Sequenom is moving aggressively to make DNA MassArray technology, including consumables and software, commercially available through partnership programs that include after-sales services, continued access to technology enhancements, and the development of applications that fit individual partner needs.

To further increase the market potential for DNA MassArray, Sequenom is developing a semi-automated version of the APL to be bundled with consumables, called the Basic System, for customers with lower throughput requirements.

For more information: Daniel Little, Sequenom, Inc., 440 Commercial St., 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02109. Telephone: 617-723-3705. Fax: 617-723-3706.