Collaboration Uses BD Phosflow(TM) Technology to Enhance Drug and Biomarker Discovery within Roche SAN JOSE, Calif., and PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BD Biosciences, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and Roche announced a new collaboration today to jointly identify and develop intracellular phosphorylation site antibodies that will improve their understanding of the pathways that carry information inside of cells and why these pathways sometimes malfunction to cause disease. These insights could ultimately lead to the discovery of new drugs and biological markers for life- threatening and debilitating conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, Roche and BD will share information and resources to identify intracellular phosphorylation site target specificities of high interest in a number of disease areas. The two companies will also develop and validate antibodies for those targets using BD Phosflow(TM) technology and in other cell and tissue analysis applications. Roche will receive nonexclusive pre-launch access to all developmental BD Phosflow antibodies and a period of exclusive commercial access to those validated antibodies. "The BD Phosflow application has opened new avenues of exploration for drug developers and other scientists into the inner workings of cells," said Bill Rhodes, President of BD Biosciences, Cell Analysis. "This collaboration gives BD an opportunity to work closely with one of the world's premier pharmaceutical companies to help ensure that the antibodies we provide to scientists target the proteins and pathways that are best suited to their work. It also provides us with access to novel biology and model systems that will help us to develop the most technically challenging antibodies." "This is a potentially very powerful technology that will enable us to understand the molecular basis of complex heterogeneous disorders," said Anthony Manning, Vice President and Global Head of Inflammation, Autoimmunity and Transplantation Research at Roche Palo Alto LLC in California. "This knowledge will allow us to build on the joint efforts of Roche's pharmaceuticals and diagnostics divisions to create more effective and safer medicines by tailoring the drug to the right patient population. We are excited to have partnered with one of the leaders in this emerging area to develop key reagents and methodologies to support this effort." BD Phosflow cell signaling antibodies-used in conjunction with BD's state- of-the-art multi-parameter flow cytometry platforms-allow drug researchers to study specific subtypes of cells within a complex heterogeneous population and detect the activation state of multiple proteins at the single cell level. This advanced cell analysis technology is used by pharmaceutical and academic researchers to study cells and cell biology in a wide variety of fields. About BD BD, a leading global medical technology company that manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents, is dedicated to improving people's health throughout the world. BD is focused on improving drug therapy, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases, and advancing research and discovery of new drugs and vaccines. The Company's capabilities are instrumental in combating many of the world's most pressing diseases. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs approximately 27,000 people in approximately 50 countries throughout the world. The Company serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, industry and the general public. For more information, please visit http://www.bd.com/. About Roche Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche has 1,000 people on its Palo Alto campus, located adjacent to Stanford University in California's Silicon Valley. It is one of five global Roche research centers and is focused on the discovery of new medicines to treat neural, viral, inflammatory and immune disorders and to support organ transplantation. Medicines discovered at Roche Palo Alto include CellCept(R) (mycophenolate mofetil), Valcyte(R) (valganciclovir) and Naprosyn(R) (naproxen). For more information, please access http://paloalto.roche.com/. All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law. This press release contains certain estimates and other forward-looking statements (as defined under Federal securities laws) regarding BD's performance, including future revenues, earnings per share and income, or events or developments that BD expects to occur or anticipates occurring in the future. All such statements are based upon current expectations of BD and involve a number of business risks and uncertainties. Actual results could vary materially from anticipated results described, implied or projected in any forward-looking statement. With respect to forward-looking statements contained herein, factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to: competitive factors; pricing and market share pressures; changes in interest or foreign currency exchange rates; difficulties inherent in product development and delays in product introductions; changes in regional, national or foreign economic conditions; further increases in energy costs and their effect on, among other things, the cost of producing BD's products; fluctuations in costs and availability of raw materials and in BD's ability to maintain favorable supplier arrangements and relationships; uncertainties of litigation (as described in BD's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission); the effects of potential pandemic diseases; changes in healthcare or other governmental regulation; and issuance of new or revised accounting standards, as well as other factors discussed in this press release and in BD's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not intend to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof except as required by applicable laws or regulations. DATASOURCE: BD Biosciences CONTACT: Jeff Ezell, Director, Communications and Public Relations of BD, +1-201-847-5533, ; or Darien E. Wilson, Director, Public Affairs of Roche, +1-973-562-2232, Web site: http://www.bd.com/

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