The Roche NimbleGen Mission

Roche NimbleGen's mission is to assist scientists in developing a clearer understanding of genomics and systems biology by providing unique tools that enable acquisition and integration of complex genetic data, much of which is not otherwise accessible ("High Definition Genomics"). In fulfilling this mission we intend to become the leading supplier of high-density arrays containing long isothermal probes, build a business characterized by high growth and profitability, significantly increase shareholder value, and provide our employees with an enjoyable and personally rewarding professional experience.

Roche NimbleGen is the leading supplier of customized high-density microarray products and services, offering unprecedented flexibility for genomics research. NimbleGen's Maskless Array Synthesis (MAS) technology combines digital light processing and rapid, high-yield photochemistry to shorten array fabrication time from months to hours. NimbleGen's MAS technology offers a unique ability to make high-density arrays of long isothermal probes that provide superior results for advanced genomic analysis methods such as CGH, ChIP, whole-genome resequencing, and expression tiling. NimbleGen's MAS technology enables scientists to acquire and integrate complex genetic data sets not previously accessible. The combined data provide a much clearer understanding of genomics and systems biology. We refer to this enhanced picture of genetic activity as "High-Definition Genomics".

As part of our efforts to enable High-Definition Genomics, Roche NimbleGen is working with scientists around the world to develop and deploy a wide rangeof new microarray applications. These emerging applications all leverage Roche NimbleGen's unique ability to make oligo arrays with high density, extreme flexibility, long isothermal probes, and very short design times. Moving beyond expression of known genes or genotyping collections of SNPs, the new "genomic frontier" includes a variety of novel approaches to the study of genetic variation. The market for each of these applications could be as large as the market for expression has proven to be, and none is yet being addressed by an entrenched competitor. Examples of these array-based applications include:

• Sequence Capture - Enrich thousands of targeted loci from complex genomic DNA for high-throughput sequencing with programmable Sequence Capture microarrays.
• Array CGH - Identify genomic insertions and deletions and copy number changes at ultra-high resolution, genome wide or focused fine tiling, with high-definition CGH.
• ChIP-chip - Map regulatory protein binding sites genome wide for transcription factors, polymerases and histones, or target promoter regions with ChIP-chip analysis.
• DNA Methylation - Find methylated regions genome-wide or within targeted promoters or CpG islands with NimbleGen's high-resolution DNA methylation analysis technology.
• Gene Expression - Determine differentially expressed genes and map transcription activity with prokaryotic or eukaryotic whole-genome expression analysis.
• Comparative Genome Sequencing - Survey microbial genomes and identify and categorize all SNPs in a single experiment with Comparative Genome Sequencing.

Roche NimbleGen continues to offer custom expression analysis as well as custom array analysis for scientists developing novel applications. With this portfolio of new applications, however, we are currently focusing our marketing efforts on addressing the needs of customers involved in microbial research (integrated prokaryotic genomics) and cancer research (integrated oncogenomics).

Roche NimbleGen has been consistently working to expand the ways in which customers can access these important new applications at the genomic frontier. We offer our customers two different options for working with our technology:

• Delivery Workflow - Customers can purchase catalog arrays or custom arrays from NimbleGen and perform the array experiments at their own laboratories or core facilities. NimbleGen arrays are synthesized on standard-sized glass microscope slides and are compatible with a range of hybridization, washing and scanning instrumentation. NimbleGen provides a complete user’s guide to support customers with sample processing, array hybridization, scanning, data extraction and analysis.
• Service Workflow - Our highly trained scientists manufacture, hybridize, scan, and do a preliminary analysis of your array. There's no need for you to train your lab personnel in highly specialized techniques or scale up your capital purchases to do spotting in-house. And because of NimbleGen's inherent flexibility in creating custom designs, you have the ability to fine-tune your probe sets, iteratively create new high-density custom microarrays, and answer your research questions more quickly and cost effectively.