MDCC Molecular Devices (MM)

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Molecular Devices Corporation (NASDAQ:MDCC), a leader in innovative solutions for drug discovery and life sciences research, today announced that the European Patent Office has upheld patent EP 1,040,349, a fundamental patent held by Molecular Devices relating to automated electrophysiology that was granted by the European Patent Office on September 5, 2001. On June 4, 2002 Nanion Technologies GmbH filed an opposition with the EPO requesting the revocation of the patent. The three person opposition board of the EPO examined the request and delivered a final opinion rejecting all grounds for the opposition on December 7, 2006. The '349 patent covers several aspects of automated electrophysiology, a field pioneered by Molecular Devices. Automated electrophysiology systems are designed to be used for the measurement of ion channels, an important therapeutic target class for diseases of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Molecular Devices believes that automated electrophysiology is an ideal technique for many ion channel scientific applications, from primary screening of directed compound libraries, to hit confirmation, selectivity testing, lead optimization and in safety testing. Market-leading automated electrophysiology products such as PatchXpress(R) 7000A and IonWorks(R) Quattro(TM) from Molecular Devices have fundamentally transformed pharmaceutical ion channel research. "Molecular Devices is the established market leader in automated electrophysiology. As pioneers in this important field, we have invested significantly in all aspects of development and commercialization, including intellectual property. This decision by the European Patent Office further strengthens our leading position. We intend to continue to develop and commercialize patent-protected innovative products for life sciences research, such as the Ion Works and PatchXpress," said Joe Keegan, Ph.D., President and CEO of MDC. Molecular Devices Corporation is a leading supplier of high-performance bioanalytical measurement systems that accelerate and improve drug discovery and other life sciences research. Molecular Devices' systems and consumables enable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to leverage advances in genomics, proteomics and parallel chemistry to facilitate the high-throughput and cost-effective identification and evaluation of drug candidates. Molecular Devices' solutions are based on its advanced core technologies that integrate its expertise in engineering, molecular and cell biology and chemistry. Molecular Devices enables its customers to improve research productivity and effectiveness, which ultimately accelerates the complex process of discovering and developing new drugs. This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements related to Molecular Devices' ability to continue to develop and commercialize patent-protected products. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of Molecular Devices Corporation to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to the development of new products and their commercial acceptance, risks related to our and third parties' intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in Molecular Devices' SEC reports, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. Molecular Devices Corporation does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Molecular Devices Corporation CONTACT: Tim Harkness of Molecular Devices Corporation, +1-408-747-3533 Web site: http://www.moleculardevices.com/

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