NuGEN Technologies Announces Addition of Industry Veteran Dr. Michael Hunkapiller to Board of Directors; Company Closes $7.75 Million Funding Round Led By Alloy Ventures

Business Wire,  March 21, 2006  

Tags: board, board of directors

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SAN CARLOS, Calif. -- NuGEN Technologies, Inc., a privately held company that develops and commercializes the new standard in RNA amplification and labeling systems, today announced that it has secured $7.75 million in financing and has added industry authority Dr. Michael Hunkapiller to the company's board of directors.

The latest round of financing was led by Alloy Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm whose primary investment focus is seed and early-stage information and life science companies. Existing NuGEN investors Sutter Hill Ventures, Radius Ventures and The Band of Angels also participated in the financing. NuGEN will deploy the funds to accelerate its technology development and expand global distribution for its innovative amplification and detection systems for gene expression research.

NuGEN also announced the addition of Alloy Ventures partner Dr. Mike Hunkapiller to the company's board of directors, which includes Jeff Bird, Liz Davila, Elizabeth Hutt, Nurith Kurn, and Jim Wilson. Prior to joining Alloy Ventures, Dr. Hunkapiller spent 21 years at Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI), which he helped grow from startup to almost $2 billion in annual revenues supplying instrument and reagent systems for life science research. At ABI, he held several positions, most recently as President and General Manager. He was also a founder of ABI's sister company Celera Genomics (NYSE:CRA) and Senior Vice President of Applera Corporation (their parent company). Prior to joining ABI, Dr. Hunkapiller was a senior research fellow in the Division of Biology at the California Institute of Technology. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1970 and a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Caltech in 1974. Dr. Hunkapiller is currently on the board of directors of Codon Devices, Fluidigm, and Pacific Biosciences.

"As we enter a phase of accelerated market penetration and diversification for the company, Mike's wealth of industry experience will be a valuable addition to our board," said Elizabeth A. Hutt, CEO of NuGEN Technologies. "Mike is a seasoned general manager with years of leadership in the biotechnology industry, and tapping into his strategic insight and operational expertise will be paramount to driving our growth plans."

About NuGEN Technologies Inc.

NuGEN Technologies is focused on the development and commercialization of sensitive, rapid and cost-effective amplification and detection systems for genomic and proteomic research. The company's technologies enable the comprehensive analysis and discovery of biological mechanisms, cellular responses, and disease pathologies. NuGEN's proprietary SPIA(TM) and Ribo-SPIA(TM) amplification and labeling system for DNA and RNA based applications, form the foundation for a wide range of methods and products used by life scientists. The Ovation(TM) amplification and labeling system, the company's first commercially available product line, has applied these technologies to enhancing the sensitivity, convenience, and accuracy of gene expression analysis. Based in San Carlos, CA, NuGEN has a world-class investor syndicate, several collaborations with leading academic and commercial organizations and a management team with significant experience developing and marketing products for research or clinical diagnostic applications.

NuGEN, Ovation, SPIA, Ribo-SPIA, WT-Ovation, and Imagine More From Less are trademarks or service marks of NuGEN Technologies, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including continued growth in demand by researchers for total RNA analysis, continued use of oligo and cDNA microarrays, acceptance by researchers of the Company's technologies and products, and competition from existing and newly developed products. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's current expectations as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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