Molecular Devices Introduces New Reagent Kit for High Throughput Screening Applications

Molecular Devices Corporationompany%>, a leader in innovative solutions for drug discovery and life science research, today announced the introduction of its third reagent kit targeted at high throughput screening. The FLIPR Membrane Potential Assay Kit makes high throughput assays for the study of ion channels a reality, greatly expanding the functionality of Molecular Devices' FLIPR system.

The new FLIPR Membrane Potential Assay Kit provides all the reagents needed for the screening of ion channels, an important class of drug targets, on the FLIPR system. The reagents in the kit have a much faster response time than the traditional protocol. Use of the FLIPR Membrane Potential Assay Kit can reduce the total assay time for a 384-well plate to less than 2 minutes, from up to approximately 30 minutes with the traditional protocol.

"This new kit has the potential to revolutionize the way our customers perform membrane potential assays. We believe it will provide the highest throughput method available for the study of ion channels, without compromising the quality of information obtained," said John Senaldi, Vice President of Marketing at Molecular Devices. "The data gathered from our beta site customers demonstrates the tremendous value this kit should provide to drug discovery researchers."

With the development of this new kit, Molecular Devices will now offer two reagent kits that enable two very important assays for drug discovery to be performed on the FLIPR system. The FLIPR Calcium Assay Kit, designed for screening G-protein coupled receptors, was released earlier this year. These kits, along with others in development, are targeted to support a substantial installed base of instruments and to provide researchers with a more efficient way to perform drug discovery.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Molecular Devices Corporation is a leading developer of high-performance, bioanalytical measurement systems that accelerate and improve drug discovery and other life sciences research. The Company's systems enable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to leverage advances in genomics and combinatorial chemistry by facilitating the high throughput and cost effective identification and evaluation of drug candidates. The Company's instrument systems are based on its advanced core technologies which integrate its expertise in engineering, molecular and cell biology and chemistry and are fundamental tools for drug discovery and life sciences research.

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements. For this purpose, any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of Molecular Devices Corporation to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10K for the year ended December 31, 1999.