European purchase adds cutting-edge technologies for future growth worldwide.

Summary

Melville, NY, July 26, 2005 - Olympus Life and Material Science Europa GmbH (Hamburg, Germany), a subsidiary of the Olympus Corporation, has acquired the privately held European microfluidics company Advalytix AG (Brunnthal, Germany). With this move, Olympus demonstrates its commitment to its fast-growing in vitro diagnostics and life sciences businesses. The acquisition provides Olympus with key technologies to maximize growth in innovative analytical systems.

"The acquisition of Advalytix represents great opportunities for Olympus worldwide," said Stephen Wasserman, Group Vice President, Diagnostic Systems Group, Olympus America Inc.

"It positions Olympus at the very forefront of the latest technological developments in the life sciences, puts us at the center of business opportunities in this rapidly expanding field, and helps us sustain our double digit growth."

Olympus will apply Advalytix's technology to enhance analytical reactions on diagnostic instrumentation and to expand into new areas such as Single-Cell PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) or Lab-on-a-Chip in routine diagnostics. Microfluidics, used to manipulate liquids in the submicroliter range, is a key technology for both in vitro diagnostics and molecular biology research. By miniaturizing liquid volumes, scarce samples and expensive reagents are conserved. Advalytix's proprietary technology has been commercialized with the SlideBooster™ hybridization and AdvaWash™ washing stations, targeted at the microarray market. The company is also developing products and protocols for the genetic analysis of single cells.

Para mais informação, contate, por favor, a Olympus América Latina, Inc. 1-305-260-4287 ou com diagnóstico@olympus.com ou ao distribuidor autorizado em seu país.