American Society of Hematology Sessions Highlight Contributions Of Transgenomic, Inc. Technology To Leukemia Research

ATLANTA, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Transgenomic Inc. announced today that a number of customers from major research institutions worldwide will present results in which the company's products and/or services were instrumental. These presentations will be given at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting, December 10-13, in Atlanta.

Several presentations focus on detection of various mutations in the BCR-ABL gene that are associated with development of drug (imatinib) resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ALL). These studies represent additional contributions to the growing body of work that demonstrates the sensitivity of Transgenomic's WAVE(R) System for early detection of a wide spectrum of emerging drug resistance mutations.

"As additional next-generation BCR-ABL inhibitors enter clinical development, there is increasing interest in understanding the molecular basis of response to these therapies and the development of resistance," commented Collin D'Silva, CEO. "We believe the increasing utilization of our WAVE System(R) to address such issues is attributable to its unmatched sensitivity among mutation scanning technologies, including superiority to direct DNA sequencing."

Other topics represented among the expected presentations include: (i) mutational analysis of additional drug targets or related genes in several types of leukemia; (ii) molecular profiling of progenitor cell populations in myoproliferative disease; and (iii) mutational analysis of the genes involved in various other hematological disorders.

Mr. D'Silva pointed out that "Our WAVE System instrument platform, together with our SURVEYOR(TM) mutation detection kits, related reagents, and the unique capabilities of our Discovery Services unit, allow us to offer a comprehensive set of solutions to the hematology-oncology clinical research community." D'Silva concluded, "We are very pleased to see the progress being made by our customers in advancing the paradigm of personalized medicine."

About Transgenomic

Transgenomic is a global company that provides versatile and innovative products and services to the medical research and pharmaceutical markets. Transgenomic's WAVE Systems are specifically designed for use in genetic variation detection. They have broad applicability to genetic research and molecular diagnostics. The emerging pursuit of personalized medicine is driving the ongoing need to detect new, uncharacterized mutations and genetic polymorphisms. The high analytical sensitivity of the WAVE System makes it a uniquely enabling technology for the advancement of personalized medicine. To date there have been over one thousand systems installed in over 30 countries around the world. In addition to the sale of systems and consumables Transgenomic provides services to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies in preclinical and clinical development of targeted therapeutics. For more information about the innovative genomics research tools developed and marketed by Transgenomic, please visit the company's Web site at www.transgenomic.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" of Transgenomic within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those with respect to management's current views and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results, including the usefulness of the company's Discovery Services team to contribute toward cutting edge research on targeted therapeutics. The known risks, uncertainties and other factors affecting these forward-looking statements are described from time to time in Transgenomic's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any change in such factors, risks and uncertainties may cause the actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to in such statements. Accordingly, the company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to all statements contained in this press release. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release and Transgenomic does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

CONTACT: Robert J. Pogulis, Ph.D. of Transgenomic Inc., +1-845-782-9617,rpogulis@transgenomic.com

Web site: http://www.transgenomic.com/