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Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium Completes World's Largest Whole-Genome Association Project Using Affymetrix Technology

Posted on: Thursday, 7 June 2007, 15:00 CDT

Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) today announced that the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) has used its GeneChip® microarray technology to complete the world's largest whole-genome association project to date. The research team analyzed the genetic information of more than 17,000 individuals to find genes associated with seven common complex human diseases. A manuscript, entitled "Genome-wide Association Study of 14,000 Cases of Seven Common Diseases and 3,000 Shared Controls," published in the June 7, 2007 issue of Nature details the results of these studies.

The large-scale WTCCC project proves that whole-genome association analysis is a highly effective approach for discovering genes associated with complex diseases. The research team used the Affymetrix 500K Arrays to detect 24 genetic associations across Bipolar Disorder, Coronary Artery Disease, Crohn's Disease, Hypertension, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes.

The WTCCC is a team of leading human geneticists from more than 50 different research institutes throughout the United Kingdom, including the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Leicester University, Cambridge University and Oxford University.

"This project is a tremendous validation of the genome-wide association approach to complex human disease genetics, as well as the ability of the Affymetrix genotyping platform," said Professor Peter Donnelly from the Department of Statistics at Oxford, who chairs the consortium. "When we began this study, the HapMap project had just been completed and the technologies were brand new. We are pleased to have been able to shed new light not only on the genetic basis of a large number of human diseases but also on the design and analysis of genome-wide association studies as a whole."

More than 10 billion individual genotypes were produced as part of this project. Researchers used the Affymetrix technology to genotype around 2,000 cases for each disease. The genotyping data was then compared to information from 3,000 common controls in the U.K. The team was able to find strong evidence for genetic associations and confirm previously published results.

"The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium is world-renowned for its genetic research. These latest discoveries are crucial and should lead to a number of new personalized tests and treatments that will help in the fight against several of the world's most common diseases," said Kevin King, president of life sciences business and executive vice president at Affymetrix. "Affymetrix genotyping technology has generated data for more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications, making it the clear, gold-standard platform for large-scale studies."

The genotyping services were conducted through a partnership with the Affymetrix Services Lab, which assists customers with strategic high-throughput projects and helps test and validate new technologies.

For more information on the Affymetrix 500K Array, please visit: http://www.affymetrix.com/products/arrays/specific/500k.affx

For more information on a recent WTCCC discovery using Affymetrix genotyping products, please visit:

Replication of Genome-Wide Association Signals in U.K. Samples Reveals Risk Loci for Type 2 Diabetes: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1142364v1

About The Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust is an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. Established in 1936 and with an endowment of around £13 billion, it is the UK's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research. As a privately endowed charity, the trust is independent from governments, from industry and from donors.

The governing document of the Wellcome Trust is its constitution. This represents an updated version of the will of Sir Henry Wellcome, through which the Wellcome Trust was established in 1936. Ultimate responsibility for its activities lies with its Board of Governors. For more information, please visit http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/

About Affymetrix

Affymetrix GeneChip® microarray technology is the industry-standard tool for analyzing complex genetic information. After inventing microarray technology in the late 1980s, Affymetrix scientists have been dedicated to developing innovative products that provide researchers with a more complete view of the genome. These products continue to accelerate genetic research and enable scientists to develop diagnostics and tailor treatments for individual patients by identifying and measuring the genetic information associated with complex diseases.

Today, Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies, as well as leading academic, government and not-for-profit research institutes. More than 1,500 systems have been shipped around the world and more than 8,500 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology.

Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and has manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., and Singapore. The company has about 1,100 employees worldwide and maintains sales and distribution operations across Europe and Asia. For more information about Affymetrix, please visit the company's website at www.affymetrix.com.

Forward-looking Statements

All statements in this press release that are not historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including statements regarding Affymetrix' "expectations,""beliefs,""hopes,""intentions,""strategies" or the like. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected, including, but not limited to: risks and uncertainties associated with the agreement with the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium discussed in this press release; risks of the company's ability to achieve and sustain higher levels of revenue, higher gross margins and reduced operating expenses; uncertainties relating to technological approaches, manufacturing and product development; personnel retention; uncertainties related to cost and pricing of Affymetrix products; dependence on collaborative partners; uncertainties relating to sole-source suppliers; uncertainties relating to FDA and other regulatory approvals; competition; risks relating to intellectual property of others and the uncertainties of patent protection and litigation. These and other risk factors are discussed in Affymetrix' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and other SEC reports, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for subsequent quarterly periods. Affymetrix expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Affymetrix' expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

NOTE: Affymetrix, the Affymetrix logo and GeneChip® are registered trademarks owned or used by Affymetrix Inc.

Source: Business Wire

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