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Technology Stocks : JMAR Technologies(JMAR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MRothaus1 who wrote (9323)	1/17/2001 11:14:40 AM
From: Starlight	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9695

JMAR Receives $2.1 Million in New Precision System Orders From Two Leading Biochip Manufacturers Company Successfully Adapts Its Proven Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Technology to Help Produce Advanced DNA Microarrays SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2001-- JMAR Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq NM:JMAR - news), a provider of micro-technology products for the microelectronics and biotech industries today announced that its JMAR Precision Systems division has received orders totaling more than $2.1 million for its precision manufacturing and positioning system products and services from two leading manufacturers of DNA biochips for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. These systems will enable the fabrication of biomedical products targeted at improving the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of many diseases. Some of the purchased items were delivered before the end of 2000 and the remainder are scheduled to be delivered through the end of the current quarter. DNA biochips are arrays of miniature testing sites that allow vast numbers of simultaneous experiments to be conducted in a very small area. Such DNA microarrays are one of the few platforms capable of supporting the extensive parallel analysis needed to exploit the mass of genetic information resulting from the sequencing of the human genome. Because of their potential to accelerate the transition of life-enhancing therapies to market, these microarrays are viewed as one of the most important bio-research tools of the post-genome era. They are now being used in drug discovery, pharmacology and clinical research. According to Business Week magazine, the market for biochips in 1999 was ``about $1 billion -- with room to expand to $40 billion'' over the next 10 years as their use in the treatment of diseases and other non-medical applications broadens. John S. Martinez, Ph.D., JMAR's chairman and CEO, commented, ``The rapid growth forecasted for the biochip market should generate substantial new sales opportunities for biochip manufacturing equipment makers, like JMAR. ``Long overshadowed by Silicon Valley, the biotech industry is now beginning to use key semiconductor manufacturing techniques to accelerate its own product introductions,'' Dr. Martinez noted. ``JMAR's precision positioning, alignment and lithography technologies, originally developed within the framework of our current semiconductor equipment product lines, are ideally suited for this purpose. Accordingly, we are pleased that the biochip industry has begun to adapt this powerful semiconductor industry technology, including JMAR's optical projection aligners and direct-write lithography positioning techniques, to produce their biochips. ``Many industry analysts agree that biochips will bring genomics, the study of all genes in a living organism, out of research laboratories and into the daily practice of medicine within the next few years,'' Dr. Martinez added. ``They believe that biochips will ultimately do for biology what microprocessors did for computers and we're delighted to have the opportunity to play such an important role in helping advance this vital and vibrant industry. ``In addition to their current pharmaceutical research and development uses, biochips will almost certainly be utilized one day in standard physician office procedures,'' Dr. Martinez said. ``They also are beginning to be used in a variety of non-medical forensic applications and for monitoring contamination levels in public water supplies. We view each of these different applications as a potentially significant growth opportunity for the biochip industry which could generate more requirements for JMAR's manufacturing equipment and services.'' JMAR Technologies Inc., a semiconductor industry-focused company, is a leading developer of proprietary advanced laser and X-ray light sources for high-value microelectronics manufacturing and metrology. It is also a fabless provider of high-performance integrated circuits for the rapidly growing broadband telecommunications market and other microelectronics applications. In addition, JMAR manufactures precision measurement, positioning and light-based manufacturing systems for inspection and repair of semiconductors and continues to play an important role in adapting its precision semiconductor manufacturing technology to the fabrication of advanced biomedical and optical communications products. The statements regarding JMAR's expectations for future sales and potential business opportunities in the biotech business area are forward-looking statements based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These risks include the failure of future orders to materialize as expected, delays in shipment or cancellation of orders, failure of acceptance of new products, failure of advanced technology and new intellectual property to perform as predicted and the other risks detailed in the company's Form 8-K filed on Feb. 15, 2000, its 1999 Form 10-K and other reports filed with the SEC. Contact: JMAR Technologies Inc. Dennis E. Valentine, 760/602-3292 www.jmar.com Email this story - Most-emailed articles - Most-viewed articles