Cyntellect, Inc. Awarded $500,000 Phase IIB SBIR Grant Funding To Advance Development Of Laser-based Transfection ('Optoinjection')

SAN DIEGO and REYKJAVIK, Iceland, June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Cyntellect, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company, today announced it will receive approximately $500,000 under a Phase IIB Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant for continued development of its laser-based LEAP(TM) system for enhancing RNA interference (RNAi) applications. This National Science Foundation (NSF) grant will fund further development of Cyntellect's LEAP-enabled LaserFect(TM) technology for high-efficiency, low-toxicity delivery of siRNA into cells that are typically refractory to standard transfection techniques. The Phase IIB grant program from NSF provides matching funds up to $500,000 to companies that meet the goals of their Phase II grant and are also able to secure additional investment from non-governmental sources.

"This Phase IIB funding directly recognizes the significant progress Cyntellect has made over the past year in developing and demonstrating the value of laser-based siRNA delivery," stated Dr. Fred Koller, President and CTO. "It is abundantly clear that market demand is rapidly expanding for new, more efficient techniques to enhance the delivery of siRNA into important, but refractory cells, and we believe our LaserFect(TM) technology will squarely address this need."

About Cyntellect

Cyntellect, Inc. is a biotechnology company committed to revolutionizing the use of living cells in life science research and cellular therapy. The Company combines expertise in high-speed cell imaging and laser-based manipulation to develop products that enable novel cell imaging, purification, and transfection capabilities to enhance the productivity of laboratory research, recombinant protein production, high-content cellular assays, functional genomics and proteomics, and cell purification, including processing of cells for therapeutic transplantation. For additional information please visit the Company's web site at www.cyntellect.com.

CONTACT: Jim Linton, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer of Cyntellect, Inc.,+1-858-382-7678 (USA), jlinton@cyntellect.com; or Ragnhildur Magnusdottir,Public Relations Specialist of NordVest Securities, +354 690 6611(Iceland), ragga@nordvest.is, or raggais@yahoo.com, for Cyntellect, Inc.

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