REGENSBURG, GERMANY, Jul 01, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) ----

 - The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) extends cooperation with GENEART
   once again - Contract volume increases by USD 0.8M - Overall, NIH have placed orders with GENEART totaling USD 2.7M in 2008
   as part of the MGC program - The extension of contract reconfirms the capabilities of GENEART technology 

Regensburg, July 1, 2008 - GENEART AG, the global leader in gene synthesis and specialist in Synthetic Biology, is announcing an extension of the current agreement with the US National Cancer Institute (part of NIH, the American health authorities) by USD 0.8M. The NIH are therefore increasing the order volume for the production of genes for the "Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC)" to a total of USD 2.7M in 2008. More than 3,500 genes with an order volume of approximately USD 3.5M were produced by GENEART last year as part of the basic contract. The National Cancer Institute uses the genes synthesized by GENEART to supplement the Mammalian Gene Collection - a comprehensive collection of genes from mice, rats, and humans, both for basic research and for applied medical research.

The genes that have been produced so far are composed of complex repeat motifs, they are quite large and for most part are rare transcripts. In order to produce the requested highly complex genes efficiently in high throughput, GENEART further advanced its synthesis processes and established new production techniques last year. Professor Dr. Ralf Wagner, CSO of GENEART AG, adds: "GENEART has further extended its leading market position in 2007 - both in terms of technical possibilities and capacities - with the development of new technology in the context of the basic contract. To our knowledge, no other provider of gene synthesis has such possibilities at their disposal."

"The current extension of the contract confirms that the investment in expanding our technology was the right decision, which we will benefit from greatly in major orders today and in the future. Furthermore, we are of course pleased that the extension of the contract has again confirmed our close and faithful cooperation with the NCI", Christian Ehl, CFO of GENEART AG, commented.

   For further inquiries, please contact: Bernd Merkl GENEART AG Josef-Engert-Str. 11 93053 Regensburg Germany Phone: +49-(0)941-942
   76-638 Fax: +49-(0)941-942 76-711 ir@geneart.com www.geneart.com Frank Ostermair Better Orange IR & HV AG Haidelweg 48
   81241 Munich Germany Phone: +49-(0)89-8896906-10 Fax: +49-(0)89-8896906-66 info@better-orange.de www.better-orange.de 

Legal Information

This document may contain estimates, prognoses and opinions about company plans and objectives, products or services, future results, opinions about these results or opinions leading up to these results. All these projections into the future are subject to risk, uncertainty and unforeseeable change outside the control of the GENEART Group. Many factors may lead to actual results, which considerably deviate from the given projections for these results.

About Geneart:

In 2000, GENEART entered the gene synthesis market and has since become the global market leader. Today, the company is one of the leading specialists in the Synthetic Biology field. Experts at GENEART provide key technologies for the development and production of new therapeutics and vaccines. Customers also take advantage of GENEART services to customize enzyme attributes, such as the attributes of enzymes used as detergent additives, and to construct bacteria, which produce complex biopolymers or break down polymers, such as synthetics, petroleum components, etc. Our production and service spectrum spans a wide range, from the production of synthetic genes according to DIN EN ISO 9001-2000, to the creation of gene libraries in the combinatorial biology, to the development and production of DNA-based biologically active substances. The GENEART AG in Regensburg (Germany) and the subsidiary GENEART Inc. in Toronto (Canada) employ more than 190 people. Since May 2006, GENEART is listed on the German Stock Exchange.

About the NIH

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The Nation's Medical Research Agency - is comprised of 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

The project has been funded in whole with Federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, under Contract No. N01-CO-12400. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of policies of the Department of Health and Human Service, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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SOURCE: Geneart AG

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