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Celera Genomics Presents Data Describing the Efficacy of its Tryptase Inhibitor for the Treatment of Allergic Asthma
In vivo efficacy with dose dependent inhibition of airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation suggest tryptase inhibition as a therapeutic for allergic asthma

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA - May 24, 2005

Celera Genomics Group (NYSE:CRA), an Applera Corporation business, today announced that it will present data describing the efficacy of its tryptase inhibitor for the treatment of allergic asthma at the annual International Conference of the American Thoracic Society being held May 20-25, 2005, in San Diego, California.

In a poster entitled, “A selective small molecule inhibitor of tryptase blocks airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and inflammation in a mouse model of allergic asthma,” the Celera Genomics tryptase inhibitor’s in vivo efficacy in a mast cell-dependent mouse model of allergic asthma was evaluated. In this study, mice were sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA) on seven alternate days from days 1-13 of the study. The mice were then challenged intranasally with saline or OVA on days 40, 43 and 46. The Celera tryptase inhibitor was administered intraperitoneally on day 39 through day 46 at dose levels of 20-50 mg/kg. The steroid budesonide was administered intranasally at 0.5 mg/kg as a reference compound. In vivo airway AHR to methacholine, lung eosinophilia and Th2 cytokine levels were determined 24 hours after the last challenge.

The Celera Genomics tryptase inhibitor completely inhibited the OVA-induced AHR and eosinophil influx, to the same extent as budesonide, the positive control compound. Moreover, the OVA-induced increase in the Th2 cytokines interleukin IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 was also significantly reduced after treatment with the tryptase inhibitor, when compared with the vehicle control.

“These proof of concept data demonstrate that a selective tryptase inhibitor exhibits in vivo efficacy with dose-dependent inhibition of both AHR and inflammation,” said Stacie Dalrymple, Senior Director of Pharmacology, Celera Genomics. “We are encouraged with the findings in this study which suggest that inhibiting tryptase could represent an exciting therapeutic approach for allergic asthma.”

About Tryptase
Tryptase is a secreted serine protease, stored in granules and released from mast cells upon degranulation after allergen challenge. Elevated tryptase levels have been detected in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with allergic asthma. Celera Genomics has identified different classes of compounds that potently and selectively inhibit human tryptase.

About Allergic Asthma
20.3 million Americans report having asthma, and 9 million children under 18 have been diagnosed with the disease. More than 4 million children have had an asthma attack in the last year. More than 70% of people with asthma also suffer from allergies, and 10 million Americans suffer specifically from allergic asthma. The prevalence of asthma increased 75% from 1980-1994, with a 160% increase in children under the age of 5 in this same period. There are approximately 5,000 deaths each year from asthma. Direct health care costs for asthma in the US total more than $9.4 billion annually; indirect costs (lost productivity) add another $4.6 billion for a total of $14 billion. More than 14 million school days are missed annually due to asthma¹.

About Celera Genomics and Applera Corporation
Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The Celera Genomics Group is engaged principally in the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Celera Genomics is leveraging its proteomic, bioinformatic, and genomic capabilities to identify and validate drug targets, and to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics. It is also seeking to advance therapeutic antibody and selected small molecule drug programs in collaboration with global technology and market leaders. The Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI) serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries, develop new pharmaceuticals, and conduct standardized testing. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of $1.7 billion during fiscal 2004. Celera Diagnostics, a 50/50 joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics, is focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic products. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800.762.6923. Information about Celera Genomics is available at www.celera.com.

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," "plan," and "should," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Applera Corporation’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, Applera 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. These factors include but are not limited to (1) Celera Genomics’ unproven ability to discover, develop, or commercialize proprietary products; (2) the risk that clinical trials of products that Celera Genomics does discover and develop will not proceed as anticipated or may not be successful, or that such products will not receive required regulatory clearances or approvals; (3) the uncertainty that Celera Genomics’ products will be accepted and adopted by the market, including the risk that these products will not be competitive with products offered by other companies, or that users will not be entitled to receive adequate reimbursement for these products from third party payors such as private insurance companies and government insurance plans; and (4) other factors that might be described from time to time in Applera’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

¹ “Asthma Prevalence, Health Care Use, and Mortality, 2000-2001,” National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Notice To Readers: Celera's press releases, presentations and printed remarks are included on this website for historical purposes only. The information contained in these documents should be considered accurate only as of the date of the relevant document. This information may change over time, and therefore visitors to this website should not assume that the information contained in these documents remains accurate at a later time. We do not have any current intention to update any of the information in these documents.