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Biotech / Medical : Biotech Lock-Up Expiration Hell Portfolio -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tuck who wrote (295)	8/1/2001 3:22:31 PM
From: tuck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1005

Possible pachyderms in CURN, ARNA taking a bit of drubbing, and TWTI continuing weak . . . ipolockup.com >>FACT SHEET - Third Wave Technologies Business Plan & Product Commercialization Strategy MADISON, Wis., Jul 17, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Third Wave Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: TWTI chart, msgs) is the leading developer and provider of DNA and RNA analysis products for use in genome research, pharmacogenomics and clinical applications. Third Wave's business plan and product commercialization strategy is derived from the company's fundamental technological and manufacturing advantages. "Third Wave is leveraging the technological advantages of its proprietary Invader(R) product platform, including our broad menu of unique products and their performance, ease of use and overall cost-effectiveness, to set the standard for products used in the discovery of the genetic basis of disease and the delivery of personalized medicine," said Lance Fors, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Third Wave. "Third Wave's technological advantages coupled with the company's superior manufacturing processes and capacity allow us to move our products from the research lab to the clinical market more quickly, efficiently and profitably than our competitors. In the coming months, Third Wave will launch a new series of products for use in genomic research and clinical applications, demonstrating not only the power of the Invader product platform, but of our commercialization strategy as well." The company illustrates its product strategy as a funnel. The movement of a product from the research market to the clinical market is progressive and incremental through four general categories or portions of the funnel: Discovery Tools and "Medically Associated" Panels for research use and Analyte-Specific Reagents and In-Vitro Diagnostics for use in clinical settings. Each of the categories is described in more detail below. Third Wave products typically enter the market as research tools and the large number of products it has developed and will continue to develop for research use form the broad top of the funnel. Once a product has entered the funnel with its introduction as a research tool, additional validation is completed, but little additional assay development work is needed as it is introduced in various markets for use on different platforms. As a result, any particular product can be reproduced easily and inexpensively, regardless of the market in which it is being sold. Clinical products fill the bottom half of the funnel to its point. The number of products moving from research use to the clinical market will continue to accelerate as medical genetic research is conducted to establish the medical associations of SNPs, other genetic variations and gene expression profiles. "As an Invader product is moved from research to clinical use, the cost to produce it increases very little, while the revenue and profit margin it generates increase dramatically," Fors said. "We believe that Third Wave's product commercialization strategy will yield significant financial benefits for the company, further enhancing our competitive advantages and our ability to set the standard for disease discovery and management." Descriptions of Third Wave's Product Strategy Categories or Funnel Sections The following describes Third Wave's product strategy. The focus on DNA products is for clarity only. Third Wave has also developed RNA analysis products for use in detecting and quantifying gene expression levels. * Discovery. While the association of certain SNPs or other genetic variations has been determined, an association has not been established for the majority of these variations. Third Wave initiated its product strategy by developing, manufacturing, quality control testing and shipping a broad menu of more than 55,000 unique, "turnkey" SNP analysis products for use in genome research to correlate specific SNPs with predisposition to disease or response to therapeutic treatment. The company has a number of collaborative customers to which it supplies early access to and preferential pricing for its products in exchange for rights to commercialize discoveries made using Invader products. * "Medically Associated" Panels (MAP): Potential Clinical Markers. As use of Third Wave's research products reveals the potential association of one or more SNPs with a medical condition, it is designated a potential clinical marker and earmarked for inclusion on the company's Medically Associated Panels, specific collections of medically relevant SNPs packaged together. The association of certain SNPs has already been established and the company soon will be announcing the release of its first such panel. As new medically associated markers emerge through research and move down the funnel, they will both expand existing panels and be reconfigured to create new disease-specific panels. * Analyte-Specific Reagents (ASRs): Emerging Clinical Markers. Researchers using Third Wave's MAP will validate the associations of particular genetic markers to specific medical conditions. Once an association is validated, the product that detects the marker can be moved one step further down the funnel and, more importantly, into the clinical market. The ASR format permits the use of the assay in clinical settings without full FDA clearance because the user, a certified clinical laboratory, validates the test for its particular use. The format also allows Third Wave to generate demand for a clinical marker or set of markers prior to deciding to seek FDA clearance to market such products as in-vitro diagnostic tools. * In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs): Established Clinical Markers. Once sufficient demand exists for a particular product, Third Wave will seek full approval to market that product as an IVD. While IVD products are represented as occupying the smallest part of the funnel, they are the largest potential revenue source. The assay manufactured and shipped by the company as an IVD is fundamentally the same assay design that entered the research market as a discovery tool. "We believe that Third Wave's product strategy allows us to set the standard for disease discovery tools initially then place the same product in different and increasingly profitable markets without substantial redesign each time it enters a new market," Fors said. "Our company is working aggressively, as our new product launches will demonstrate, to exploit Third Wave's competitive advantages to the benefit of our customers and our shareholders." For more information on Third Wave and its product commercialization strategy, please visit Third Wave's website at twt.com. << snipped safe harbor boilerplate Will some analyst step forward and upgrade it? BLUE HP tempted to nibble just in case. Cheers, Tuck