Third Wave Technologies, Inc., Chiron Corporation, Bayer Corporation Dismiss HCV Patent Suit

MADISON, Wis., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Third Wave Technologies Inc. today announced that it has reached an agreement with Chiron Corp., Bayer Corp., and Bayer HealthCare, LLC under which the companies jointly will seek the dismissal without prejudice of Third Wave's lawsuit against Chiron and Bayer over patents related to hepatitis C virus, or HCV.

No licenses were granted or taken under the agreement and no payment was made to any of the companies. Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

Third Wave now has resolved all of its patent-related lawsuits, with the exception of the company's ongoing dispute with Stratagene Corp. Stratagene recently posted a $21-million bond in Third Wave's name that secures the damages and attorneys' fees awarded to Third Wave last year in its successful suit against Stratagene.

Third Wave resolved its lawsuit with Innogenetics N.V. in early February by taking a non-exclusive license to that company's HCV patent after evaluating the cost of the license versus the cost of continuing to litigate the suit. The company reached an amicable agreement with Digene Corp. in January under which the companies agreed not to bring suit over human papilloma virus, or HPV, patents against one another for one year.

"Third Wave's top priority is delivering high-value, clinical molecular diagnostic products to our growing customer base," said Kevin T. Conroy, president and chief executive of Third Wave. "We now can focus on that objective without the distraction and cost of litigation.

"By moving quickly to resolve these matters, we will also lower our general and administrative costs during 2006 and we will continue to invest in the development of our new molecular diagnostic products," Mr. Conroy said.

About Third Wave

Third Wave develops and markets molecular diagnostic reagents for a variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications to meet the needs of our customers. The company offers a number of products based on its Invader(R) chemistry for clinical testing. Third Wave offers in vitro diagnostic kits, and analyte specific, general purpose, and research use only reagents for nucleic acid analysis. For more information about Third Wave and its products, please visit the company's website at http://www.twt.com.

All statements in this news release that are not historical are forward- looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended. Such forward-looking statements are subject to factors that could cause actual results to differ materially for Third Wave from those projected. Those factors include risks and uncertainties relating to technological approaches of Third Wave and its competitors, product development, manufacturing, market acceptance, cost and pricing of Third Wave products, dependence on collaborative partners and commercial customers, successful performance under collaborative and commercial agreements, competition, the strength of the Third Wave intellectual property, the intellectual property of others and other risk factors identified in the documents Third Wave has filed, or will file, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of the Third Wave filings with the SEC may be obtained from the SEC Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Third Wave 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 Third Wave's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements are based. Third Wave Technologies, Invader and the Third Wave logo are trademarks of Third Wave Technologies, Inc.

Third Wave Technologies Inc.

CONTACT: Rod Hise of Third Wave Technologies, +1-608-663-4010

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