Life Technologies' Benchtop Ion Proton™ Sequencer Designed to Decode a Human Genome in One Day for $1,000 Makes ArabLab Debut

GLASGOW, Scotland, March 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Democratizing DNA sequencing by reducing time, cost and informatics bottleneck

Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE) announced that its Ion Proton™ Sequencer benchtop that will sequence an entire human genome for less than 1,000 dollars in a day, will be on show for the first time in the Middle East at the ArabLab trade show 26th-29th March 2012 in Dubai.

The Ion Proton™ featured heavily at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and the World Economic Forum in Davos.  Subject to regulatory approvals beyond research use only, the technology may one day guide patients, particularly those with cancer - to receive treatment most likely to work with their individual genetic profile.  The low cost means that potentially millions of people will have the ability to have their genome read over the next ten years.

The Ion Proton™ Sequencer, priced at $149,000, is based on the next generation of semiconductor sequencing technology that has made its predecessor, the Ion Personal Genome Machine™ (PGM™), the fastest-selling sequencer in the world.

Up to now, it has taken weeks or months to sequence a human genome at a cost of $5,000 to $10,000 using optical-based sequencing technologies. The slow pace and the high instrument cost of $500,000 to $750,000 have limited human genome sequencing to relatively few research labs.

Health officials confronted by superbug outbreaks will be able to identify the strain of concern within hours rather than days or weeks and use that as a basis to begin planning treatment, potentially saving thousands of lives. "Just six months after our first semiconductor sequencing chip was released, people used it to help solve the German E.coli outbreak, sequencing the toxic strain in just a couple of hours," said Dr. Jonathan M. Rothberg, the Founder and CEO of Ion Torrent division. "Now, six months later we're developing a chip that's 1,000 times more powerful than that to sequence an entire human genome in about the same amount of time. That's the power that semiconductors bring to sequencing."

The Power of Benchtop Sequencing for All Applications

Between the benchtop Ion PGM™ Sequencer and the benchtop Ion Proton™ Sequencer, the Ion Torrent technology can cover any application. The Ion PGM™ Sequencer is ideal for sequencing genes, small genomes, panels of genes, or performing gene expression profiling, for as little as $99 a chip. The Ion PGM™ Sequencer's speed, simplicity and scalability also make it an ideal platform to extend into clinical research. Life Technologies will seek FDA clearance for the Ion PGM™ platform in 2012.

The Ion Proton™ Sequencer is ideal for sequencing both exomes - regions in the DNA that code for protein - and human genomes.  The Ion Proton™ I Chip, ideal for sequencing exomes, will be available mid-2012. The Ion Proton™ II Chip, ideal for sequencing whole human genomes, will be available about six months later.  In addition, the Ion Proton™ OneTouch™ system automates template prep and a stand-alone Ion Proton™ Torrent Server performs the primary and secondary data analysis.

All products referenced are for Research Use Only, and not intended for any animal or human therapeutic or diagnostic use.

About Life Technologies

Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) is a global biotechnology company with customers in more than 160 countries using its innovative solutions to solve some of today's most difficult scientific challenges. Quality and innovation are accessible to every lab with its reliable and easy-to-use solutions spanning the biological spectrum with more than 50,000 products for translational research, molecular medicine and diagnostics, stem cell-based therapies, forensics, food safety and animal health. Its systems, reagents and consumables represent some of the most cited brands in scientific research including: Ion Torrent™, Applied Biosystems®,  Invitrogen™, GIBCO®, Ambion, Molecular Probes®, Novex®, and TaqMan®. Life Technologies employs approximately 10,400 people and upholds its ongoing commitment to innovation with more than 4,000 patents and exclusive licenses. LIFE had sales of $3.7 billion in 2011. Visit us at our website: http://www.lifetechnologies.com.

Life Technologies' Safe Harbor Statement

This press release includes forward-looking statements about our anticipated results that involve risks and uncertainties. Some of the information contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements as to industry trends and Life Technologies' plans, objectives, expectations and strategy for its business, contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. When used, the words "believe," "plan," "intend," "anticipate," "target," "estimate," "expect" and the like, and/or future tense or conditional constructions ("will," "may," "could," "should," etc.), or similar expressions, identify certain of these forward-looking statements. Important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in filings made by Life Technologies with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Life Technologies undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120110/LA31914-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120110/LA31914-b)

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110216/MM49339LOGO)

Media Contacts:
David Robertson
Corporate Communications
Life Technologies
Email: david.robertson@lifetech.com  
Tel: +44-141-814-5889