MADISON, WI - March 9, 2004- NimbleGen Systems Inc., producer of custom high-density DNA microarrays using proprietary Maskless Array Synthesis (MAS) technology, acquired all of the assets and patent rights of Light Biology Inc., a startup biotechnology company based on technology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

This acquisition further strengthens NimbleGen's patent portfolio surrounding the synthesis of DNA microarrays. As part of the agreement, Dr. Harold (Skip) Garner, professor of biochemistry and internal medicine at UT Southwestern, will join NimbleGen's Scientific Advisory Board.

Light Biology's Digital Optical Chemistry (DOC) technology, invented by Dr. Garner, designs and manufactures DNA microarrays, which are used in scientific research to analyze the structure and function of genes at the molecular level. But as an advance over previous microarray production methods, Dr. Garner's DOC technology and NimbleGen's MAS technology make newly designed microarrays faster than previous technologies and customize them to particular subsets of an organism's genetic material.

"These microarrays can monitor levels of every gene of an organism that is expressed in a disease," Dr. Garner said. "And the technology can make the microarrays quicker and more cost effective, furthering biomedical research. We have a strong collection of ways in which this technology can be applied to cutting-edge scientific research."

Using Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing™ (DLP™) technology, Dr. Garner's DOC technology along with NimbleGen's MAS technology gives researchers the ability to rapidly and cost effectively analyze hundreds of thousands of small segments of genetic material in a few hours. Traditional high-density microarrays often do not allow customized analysis of different genetic subsets.

NimbleGen's acquisition of Light Biology and its intellectual property will allow it to enhance its operations in the United States. Dr. Stan Rose, President and CEO of NimbleGen, said, "This transaction further strengthens our position as the leading source of custom-designed, high-density DNA microarrays. We're delighted to have Skip Garner and Texas Instruments join the NimbleGen team and look forward to their contributions to our ongoing efforts to provide flexible tools that enable biologists to explore the structure and function of any genome."

After developing the business plans and negotiating with potential partners over a period of time, Light Biology and UT Southwestern decided that the right strategic move was to combine with another company that was more advanced in its commercial development. "NimbleGen had entered the market four years earlier and established a strong leadership position," said Dr. Joe Allred, director of venture development at UT Southwestern. "Merging the two gives the company clear superiority making it the right choice for both companies."

About NimbleGen Systems Inc.
NimbleGen Systems provides customized high-density microarray products and services with unprecedented flexibility for functional genomics experiments. NimbleGen's technology combines photo-deposition chemistry with digital light projection to shorten array fabrication from months to less than three hours, and NimbleGen scientists are aggressively developing and deploying new microarray applications to speed discovery research. Customers benefit from extreme flexibility, optimized array design, highly reproducible array fabrication and statistically robust results-all with low cost and quick turnaround.