News & Events

San Jose, CA (January 29, 2002) -- BD Biosciences announced today that it has entered into a collaboration with the Harvard Institute of Proteomics (HIP) at Harvard Medical School to generate thousands of gene clones involved in biological processes.

In this collaboration, Harvard scientists will exclusively use the BD Creator™ Gene Cloning and Expression System, a proprietary technology of BD Biosciences Clontech, to clone the genes. The BD Creator™ System enables streamlined, rapid transfer of the genes into any desired expression system for functional analysis. BD Biosciences will retain commercial rights to the genes cloned as a result of this collaboration. The genes then will be made available for use in experiments to determine human gene function. A better understanding of human gene function, in turn, might offer new insights into how drugs affect biological processes and could result in significant improvements in drug discovery and development for a variety of diseases.

"This collaboration represents a milestone for BD Biosciences in the area of proteomics," said Deborah J. Neff, President of BD Biosciences. "We anticipate that integration of the Harvard Institute of Proteomics' high throughput cloning capabilities with our advanced BD Creator™ Cloning System will result in the rapid generation of high-utility, sequence-verified gene clones that are likely to provide information important for the discovery of novel drugs and drug targets."

As part of the collaboration agreement, BD Biosciences will support HIP's program. In addition, Harvard scientists will have access to BD Biosciences Clontech's intellectual property with respect to the BD Creator™ platform technology. In return, Harvard brings extensive knowledge of high-throughput, semi-automated gene cloning and expression to the collaboration, and will use that knowledge to further validate the BD Creator™ Gene Cloning and Expression System for high throughput production of gene clones. Additional terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

"We hope this partnership is just the beginning in a long-term collaboration with BD Biosciences to develop a much larger collection of human genes. Our goal is to make these gene clones affordable and widely accessible to the worldwide scientific community," added Joshua LaBaer, Director of HIP.

The BD Creator™ System is a recombination-based technology that enables nearly instantaneous, precise, and directional gene transfer from a donor vector into any suitably adapted expression vector. The BD Creator™ System eliminates the need for individual subcloning strategies and allows researchers to study hundreds of genes at a time in a matrix of host organisms. Using the BD Creator™ System, it is possible to simultaneously generate dozens of gene clones, offering significant potential savings in time and effort. In addition, this approach allows scientists to more rapidly elucidate gene function for a newly identified gene of interest.

About the Harvard Institute of Proteomics

The Harvard Institute of Proteomics is taking the next step after the Human Genome Project by cloning all available human genes in a standard form that enables full-length, high throughput protein expression. To study proteins, biologists first need to capture the genes that encode them and then move those genes into an appropriate context for experimental analysis. By developing and applying new resources and technologies, HIP enables the study of proteins on a genome-wide scale using informatics and automation. The Institute has produced several thousand clones to date.

About BD Biosciences

BD Biosciences, a business segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), provides innovative tools, systems, and solutions supporting the life sciences around the world, accelerating the pace of discovery and diagnosis. From genes to proteins to cells, BD Biosciences offers integrated, high-value applications in drug discovery and development, flow cytometry systems, immune function monitoring, and functional genomics. With reported revenues of $592 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001, BD Biosciences is comprised of Clontech, Discovery Labware, Immunocytometry Systems, and Pharmingen, names that have been known and trusted in the life sciences for years.

About BD

BD is a medical technology company that serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, and the general public. BD manufactures and sells a broad range of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment and diagnostic products. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001, BD reported total revenues of $3.8 billion.

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements (as defined under Federal securities laws) regarding BD's performance, including future revenues, products and income, or events or developments that BD expects to occur or anticipates occurring in the future. All such statements are based upon current expectations of BD and involve a number of business risks and uncertainties. Actual results could vary materially from anticipated results described, implied or projected in any forward-looking statement. Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to: competitive factors; pricing and market share pressures; uncertainties of litigation; BD's ability to achieve sales and earnings forecasts, which are based on sales volume and product mix assumptions, to achieve its cost savings objectives, and to achieve anticipated synergies and other cost savings in connection with acquisitions; changes in regional, national or foreign economic conditions; increases in energy costs; fluctuations in costs and availability of raw materials and in BD's ability to maintain favorable supplier arrangements and relationships; changes in interest or foreign currency exchange rates; delays in product introductions; and changes in health care or other governmental regulation, as well as other factors discussed in this press release and in BD's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BD does not intend to update any forward-looking statements.

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CONTACT: BD Biosciences

Vera Imper, 408/954-6047

Lisa English, 408/954-2339