Biacore Interim Report January - March 2004

Biacore's sales in the first quarter of 2004 amounted to SEK 95.3 million (106.5), a decline by 11%. Excluding the impact of exchange rates, sales increased by 2%. Encouragingly, the Americas saw its second quarter of positive sales development, as early-stage drug discovery customers resumed instrument purchases. This positive trend was also seen in Europe. The reported sales decline was entirely due to a disruption in purchasing patterns caused by a reorganization and de- centralization of academic research in Japan.