Applied Biosystems and MDS expand mass spec joint venture

Foster City, CA and Toronto, ON – September 3, 2004 – Applied Biosystems Group and MDS today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to expand the scope of their joint venture in life science mass spectrometry.

Under the terms of the agreement, MDS has agreed to pay US$40 million for a 50% interest in intellectual property assets related to current Applied Biosystems MALDI Time-of-Flight (TOF) mass spectrometry systems and next-generation products under development, together with a 100% interest in certain MALDI TOF product-related manufacturing and research and development assets. MDS and Applied Biosystems will each contribute the MALDI TOF and related intellectual property to Applied Biosystems/MDS Sciex Instruments, a 50/50 joint venture of Applied Biosystems and the MDS Sciex division.

Applied Biosystems, as part of its responsibilities to the joint venture, will continue to market, sell, service, support, and provide research support to MALDI TOF products, which currently consist of the Voyager instruments and 4700 Proteomics Discovery System. Applied Biosystems also will continue to market, sell, service, and support various mass spectrometers and software products currently within the Applied Biosystems/MDS Sciex joint venture portfolio.

MDS Sciex, as part of its responsibilities to the joint venture, will assume primary research and development as well as full manufacturing responsibility for MALDI TOF product lines. MDS Sciex will continue to have responsibility for all research and product development as well as manufacturing for products currently within the Applied Biosystems/MDS Sciex joint venture.