FOSTER CITY, Calif., Jul 21, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Applied Biosystems Inc. (NYSE:ABI) today announced that it has
expanded its Software Development Community to include new software
analysis tools that are expected to help drive innovation and speed
the development of bioinformatics solutions that will enable
researchers to realize the full potential of ultra-high-throughput
genomic analysis. These new analysis tools were internally developed
by Applied Biosystems bioinformaticians to help researchers analyze
the vast amount of data generated by the company's SOLiD(TM) System.

The Applied Biosystems Software Development Community supports
bioinformaticians and life scientists in the development and potential
commercialization of informatics applications for next-generation
genomic analysis platforms. The community has noted approximately
1,000 downloads of sample data sets and data analysis tools and
resources by the hundreds of researchers, independent software
vendors, bioinformatics service providers, and SOLiD System users who
have visited the site.

The new software tools include a whole genome color space
alignment and read annotation tool; a tool for converting native SOLiD
data into a community-driven standard (Short Read Format) for NCBI
submission; a tool for consolidating reference-aligned SOLiD data into
a standard format (General Feature Format); and a small RNA SOLiD
System analysis pipeline for human whole genome alignment of small RNA
sequencing data with tag counting features.

Application data sets are also available for download in order to
aid researchers' efforts in developing proprietary software
applications. The broad availability of these new tools and software
applications are intended to drive the involvement of academic and
open source communities to develop software applications for
ultra-high-throughput genomic analysis. Dr. Michael Brudno, a computer
scientist working in bioinformatics, has developed a SOLiD System
short read alignment tool that is currently being utilized by
commercial developers and academic researchers.

"Commercial developers and the research community as a whole will
benefit from the peer reviewed distributions and the transparency of
process of open source software," said Dr. Brudno, a University of
Toronto Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Computational
Biology. "The end results of this initiative will produce higher
quality, higher reliability and more flexible software analytics for
genomic analysis."

The Software Development Community represents Applied Biosystems'
commitment to fostering innovation in life science technologies for
industry leading genetic analyzers, and real-time PCR sequence
detection systems.

"We believe the availability of application specific tools and
software are critical to helping scientists rapidly develop software
applications that are necessary to advancing work in understanding
genetic variation," said Shaf Yousaf, president for Applied
Biosystems' molecular and cell biology genomic analysis division. "By
being the first manufacturer of next-generation instrument systems to
make software development tools broadly available to the
bioinformatics community, and continuously expanding the tools and
resources available, we are empowering our customers to further
establish new standards for ultra-high-throughput genomic analysis
research."

Applied Biosystems is a global leader in the development and
commercialization of instrument-based systems, consumables, software,
and services for the life-science market and is a recognized market
leader in the commercialization of DNA sequencing platforms. The SOLiD
System, based on sequencing by oligonucleotide ligation and detection,
is Applied Biosystems' platform for ultra high-throughput genomic
analysis. Unlike polymerase sequencing approaches, the SOLiD System
utilizes a proprietary technology called stepwise ligation, which
generates high quality data for applications including, whole genome
sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), microbial and
eukaryotic resequencing, digital karyotyping, medical sequencing,
genotyping, gene expression, and small RNA discovery, among others.
For more information about the SOLiD System or the Software
Development Community please visit:
http://info.appliedbiosystems.com/solidsoftwarecommunity or
http://solidsoftwaretools.com

About Applied Biosystems Inc.

Applied Biosystems Inc. (formerly known as Applera Corporation) is
a global leader in the development and marketing of instrument-based
systems, consumables, software, and services for academic research,
the life science industry and commercial markets. Driven by its
employees' belief in the power of science to improve the human
condition, the company commercializes innovative technology solutions
for DNA, RNA, protein and small molecule analysis. Customers across
the disciplines of academic and clinical research, pharmaceutical
research and manufacturing, forensic DNA analysis, and agricultural
biotechnology use the company's tools and services to accelerate
scientific discovery, improve processes related to drug discovery and
development, detect potentially pathogenic microorganisms, and
identify individuals based on DNA sources. Applied Biosystems has a
comprehensive service and field applications support team for a global
installed base of high-performance genetic and protein analysis
solutions. On June 12, 2008, Applera Corporation and Invitrogen
Corporation (NASDAQ:IVGN) announced that their Boards of Directors had
approved a definitive merger agreement under which Invitrogen will
acquire all of the outstanding shares of Applied Biosystems stock. The
merger is subject to customary closing conditions and is targeted to
close in the fall of 2008. Further information regarding the merger
will be provided in a joint proxy statement/prospectus to be mailed to
stockholders of the company and Invitrogen. Investors and security
holders are urged to read this document when it becomes available
because it will contain important information. Applied Biosystems Inc.
is headquartered in Norwalk, CT, and reported sales of approximately
$2.1 billion during fiscal 2007. Information about Applied Biosystems,
including reports and other information filed by the company with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at
http://www.appliedbiosystems.com. All information in this news release
is as of the date of the release, and Applied Biosystems does not
undertake any duty to update this information unless required by law.

Applied Biosystems Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking.
These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases
such as "should, "planned," and "expect," among others. These
forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations. The
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe
harbor" for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with
the terms of the safe harbor, we note that a variety of factors could
cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the
anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such
forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited
to: (1) rapidly changing technology and dependence on customer
acceptance of the SOLiD System; (2) the risk of unanticipated
difficulties associated with the further development of the SOLiD(TM)
System; and (3) other factors that might be described from time to
time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
information in this press release is as of the date of the release,
and we do not undertake any duty to update this information, including
any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

(C)Copyright 2008. Applied Biosystems Inc. All rights reserved.
Applera, Applied Biosystems, and AB (Design) are registered
trademarks, and SOLiD is a trademark of Applied Biosystems Inc. or its
subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries.

SOURCE: Applied Biosystems Inc.

Applied Biosystems
Lauren Lum, 650-638-6916 (Media Contact)
lauren.lum@appliedbiosystems.com
William Craumer, 650-638-6382 (Investor Contact)
william.craumer@appliedbiosystems.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008