Celera is Name of New Genomics Company Formed by Perkin-Elmer and Dr. J.
Craig Venter
NORWALK, CT AND ROCKVILLE, MD (Aug. 5) BW HEALTHWIRE -August 5, 1998--
-- Initial Members Chosen for Scientific Advisory Board --
Celera Genomics Corporation is the name of the new genomics company
formed by Perkin-Elmer (NYSE:PKN) and Dr. J. Craig Venter of The
Institute for Genomic Research. The new company's strategy to become
the definitive source for biomedical and genomics information evolves
from a plan to complete the sequencing of the human genome in three
years.
Celera and Dr. Venter also announced the creation of Celera's
scientific advisory board and the initial appointments of Dr. Arthur L.
Caplan, Dr. Arnold J. Levine, Dr. Victor A. McKusick, Dr. Richard J.
Roberts, Dr. Melvin I. Simon, and Dr. Norton D. Zinder as its members.
Dr. Roberts, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
in 1993, will serve as chairman of the scientific advisory board.
Dr. Caplan is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of
Pennsylvania; Dr. Levine is president and chief executive officer of
Rockefeller University; Dr. McKusick is university professor of medical
genetics at The Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Roberts is a research
director at New England Biolabs; Dr. Simon is chairman and professor of
biology at the California Institute of Technology; and Dr. Zinder is
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. professor at The Rockefeller University.
"We are privileged to have such distinguished individuals on the Celera
scientific advisory board," said Tony L. White, Perkin-Elmer's
chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Their contributions
to science reflect an enormous volume of knowledge and experience. They
will help guide Celera as it develops knowledge- based tools that
promise to transform healthcare delivery and fundamentally improve the
human condition."
"The name 'Celera,' derived from the word 'celerity' which means
swiftness of motion, mirrors the speed with which our new company
intends to provide pharmaceutical companies and researchers the
information contained in the complete human genome and to help enable
the development of new therapies, targeted diagnostics and
individualized medicine," added J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., president and
chief scientific officer of Celera Genomics Corporation. "The guiding
hand of Celera's scientific advisory board will be instrumental in the
achievement of this mission."
"The formation of Celera is the most exciting development in genomic
research that I have witnessed since I entered the field," said Dr.
Roberts, commenting on his appointment to the Celera scientific
advisory board.
Celera Genomics Corporation is based in Rockville, Maryland. As noted
above, Dr. Venter serves as the president and chief scientific officer
of the new company. Mr. White serves as Celera's chairman, and
Perkin-Elmer's vice president of corporate planning and business
development, Peter Barrett, Ph.D., has been appointed executive vice
president and chief business officer. Information about Celera is
available on the World Wide Web at celera.com.
The Perkin-Elmer Corporation is a leading supplier of systems for life
science research and related applications. It develops, manufactures,
and markets life science systems and analytical instruments used in
markets such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, forensics, environmental
testing, food, agriculture, and chemical manufacturing. Headquartered
in Connecticut, Perkin-Elmer had revenues of nearly $1.4 billion in
fiscal 1997 and employs more than 6,000 people worldwide. Information
about Perkin-Elmer is available on the World Wide Web at
perkin-elmer.com or by phoning (800) 762-6923.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. These may
be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "planned," "estimated,"
and "potential," among others. These forward-looking statements are
based on the Company's 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, the Company notes 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. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the operations,
performance, development, and results of the Company's businesses
include but are not limited to (1) complexity and uncertainty regarding
the development of new high-technology products; (2) loss of market
share through competition; (3) introduction of competing products or
technologies by other companies; (4) pricing pressures from competitors
and/or customers; (5) changes in the life science or analytical
instrument industries; (6) changes in the pharmaceutical,
environmental, research, or chemical markets; (7) variable government
funding in key geographical regions; (8) the Company's ability to
protect proprietary information and technology or to obtain necessary
licenses on commercially reasonable terms; (9) the loss of key
employees; (10) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; (11)
the development of new sequencing strategies and the commercialization
of information derived from sequencing operations; and (12) other
factors that might be described from time to time in Perkin-Elmer's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Scientific
Advisory Board Biographies
Arthur L. Caplan, Ph.D. is a renowned scholar and leading authority on
the increasingly complex ethical issues surrounding biomedical advances
and scientific discovery. Since 1994 Dr. Caplan has served as Director
of the Center for Bioethics and as Trustee Professor of Bioethics at
the University of Pennsylvania. He is, in addition, Professor of
Molecular and Cellular Engineering, Professor of Philosophy and Chief,
Division of Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. Dr.
Caplan is Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and the Food and
Drug Administration. He is a prolific author and lecturer and holds
graduate and postgraduate degrees from Columbia University.
Arthur J. Levine, Ph.D. is a world-renowned cancer biologist and
recently became the eighth president of Rockefeller University.
Previously, Dr. Levine was the Harry C. Wiess Professor of the Life
Sciences at Princeton University, where he founded the University's
molecular biology department during a 12-year tenure that saw the
department grow to include two research laboratories and 35 faculty
members. Prior to his work at Princeton, Dr. Levine was chairman at
SUNY/Stony Brook School of Medicine. In addition to his reputation as a
superb administrator, Dr. Levine is highly regarded as a scientist,
having discovered a protein molecule that inhibits the development of
cancer tumors. Dr. Levine holds a doctorate degree in microbiology from
the University of Pennsylvania and conducted his postdoctoral work in
virology at the California Institute of Technology.
Victor A. McKusick, MD is university professor of medical genetics at
The Johns Hopkins University and a physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Previously, he was director of the division of medical genetics in the
department of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine. Dr. McKusick is editor-in-chief of the journal Medicine and
founding editor of Genomics, the international journal of gene mapping
and nucleotide sequencing emphasizing analyses of the human and other
complex genomes. He served as founder president of The Human Genome
Organization from 1988 to 1990.
Richard J. Roberts, Ph.D. is a research director at New England Biolabs
in Beverly, Massachusetts. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for
Physiology or Medicine in 1993 and is a leading pioneer in the
applications of computer methods in protein and nucleic acid sequence
analysis. From 1972 to 1992, Dr. Roberts held a series of senior
research positions at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, including
assistant director for research under Dr. J. D. Watson. Dr. Roberts
holds a bachelor of science degree in chemistry and a doctorate degree
in organic chemistry from the University of Sheffield in England. His
postdoctoral research was conducted at Dr. J. L. Strominger's
laboratory at Harvard University.
Melvin I. Simon, Ph.D. is chairman and professor, Division of Biology,
at California Institute of Technology with which he has been associated
since 1982. Previously, he was with the University of California, San
Diego where he served as assistant professor, associate professor, and
professor in the Department of Biology from 1965 to 1982. Dr. Simon
serves on a number of boards including those of the Agouron Institute
where he is chairman. He has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Brandeis
University.
Norton D. Zinder, Ph.D. is the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. professor and
head of the Laboratory of Genetics of The Rockefeller University. An
internationally acclaimed expert in molecular biology, Dr. Zinder was
first chairman of the U.S. National Institutes of Health's Program
Advisory Committee on the Human Genome.
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