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Under the terms of the agreement, Orchid Cellmark will become the exclusive supplier of genotyping services offered to sheep farmers under the government’s National Scrapie Plan for Great Britain, which is designed to help British farmers breed sheep with reduced genetic susceptibility to the prion disease scrapie. Thomas Bologna, President and Chief Executive Officer of Orchid Cellmark Inc., commented, “Orchid Cellmark has been the major supplier of high throughput genotyping services to the British National Scrapie Plan since its inception. We believe this extension of our scrapie genotyping contract, now on an exclusive basis, is an indication of the overall strength of our U.K. operations.” The contract renewal is part of the National Scrapie Plan for Great Britain developed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in conjunction with the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Departments in Scotland and Wales. The voluntary National Scrapie Plan is a long-term initiative of the U.K. government to eradicate scrapie from the national flock and thereby reduce the economic costs and potential risk to the sheep industry posed by sheep with scrapie. Orchid Cellmark’s genotyping service has analyzed the DNA of approximately two million sheep under this program since 2001. Scrapie, one of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, is a fatal disease that affects sheep worldwide. Scrapie has the potential to cause significant economic losses to farmers through the loss of animals from affected flocks. A number of genetic variations affect an individual sheep’s susceptibility to scrapie. By selecting those sheep with a low genetic susceptibility as breeding stock, over time farmers are producing flocks with greatly reduced vulnerability to the condition. Further information on the National Scrapie Plan for Great Britain can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/nsp Further terms of the contract extension were not disclosed. About Orchid Cellmark All statements in this press release that are not historical are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, including statements regarding Orchid Cellmark’s expectation
that the extension is expected to be worth in excess of £2 million
annually. Such statements are subject to the risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected,
including, but not limited to, uncertainties relating to technologies,
product development, manufacturing, market acceptance, cost and pricing
of Orchid Cellmark’s products and services, dependence on government
funding and collaborations, regulatory approvals, competition, intellectual
property of others, patent protection, litigation, the timing of release
of federal funds, the timing and amount of contracts put up for bid, Orchid
Cellmark’s ability to timely and successfully initiate operational
efficiencies, lower overhead and other remedial measures and Orchid’s
continued relationship with DEFRA. These risks and other additional factors
affecting these statements and Orchid Cellmark’s business are discussed
under the headings “Risks Related to Our Business” and “Risks
Associated with Our Common Stock” in Orchid Cellmark’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, as filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in other filings made by Orchid
Cellmark with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.
Orchid Cellmark 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 Orchid Cellmark’s expectations with
regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on
which any such statements are based, except as may be required by law.
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