March 9, 2004

Gene Networks Inc.

DNA Chip Research Inc.

HitachiSoft

GNBI Adopts "AceGene®", A Hypersensitive Oligo-DNA Chip,

for Its Own Basic Studies

- Effective for Gene Expression Profile Analysis Technologies -

Gene Networks Inc.Head office in U.S.A, Savoie J. Christopher, Chairman and CEO, hereinafter referred to as GNI, DNA Chip Research Inc., (Head office: Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Ken-ichi Matsubara, President, hereinafter referred to as DNA Chip), and HitachiSoft (Head office: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Takeo Ogawa, CEO and President) have agreed to use AceGene® , a hypersensitive oligo DNA chip for the research and development of genes. With GNI using AceGene® for basic research, HitachiSoft has agreed to supply GNI with AceGeneR in large quantities. HitachiSoft has set a target for supplying several thousand AceGene® chips within the next two years.

With the corporate objectives of searching for drug targets and developing new drugs, GNI was founded by Professor Kuhara of Kyushu University and Professor Miyano of Tokyo University, world-famous in the field of life science. Their research is mainly directed toward identifying causal genes for two different states of sickness and healthiness by applying gene expression profile analysis technology using DNA chips and the algorithm for identifying gene networks, and discovering a wide pathway of gene relationships and interactions. This time, AceGene® Human Oligo Chip 30K has been adopted as the DNA chip for use in their research, leading to the realization of GNI-HitachiSoft cooperation. This was because GNI judged AceGene® to be useful in studying the wide pathway of all human genes and their interactions. HitachiSoft will cooperate with GNI in the latters basic research with bioinformatics technology, for detecting splicing and SNPs in specific genes, and AceGene technology in addition to supplying the DNA chips.

AceGene® Human Oligo Chip 30K is an oligo-DNA chip jointly developed by HitachiSoft and DNA Chip Research. Technology for a synthetic oligo was introduced by MWG (Germany) noted for their Human Oligo Chip. While DNA chips are generally regarded as expensive, AceGene® is a reasonably priced DNA chip installed almost completely with human genes by using oligo DNA and taking advantage of production engineering offered by HitachiSoft. Moreover, the slide glass coating technology originally developed by DNA Chip Research and HitachiSoft contributed to realizing a high signal, high S/N ratio (over 5 times that of ordinary technology). This became possible by arranging functional groups that solidify oligo DNA into a highly concentrated tree shape with longer linkers.

With the inexpensive AceGene®, GNI can use a large quantity of samples to acquire a gene expression profile. At the same time, it can examine the function of a number of genes at one time by using the hypersensitive AceGene® installed with almost every human gene. Therefore, it is expected that future R&D by GNI will progress remarkably with the use of AceGene® . In the future, GNI and HitachiSoft will further deepen their ties and make an effort to propagate DNA chips and promote application studies and development through mutual cooperation.

(Subject products):

HyperGene® Yeast chip, AceGene® Human Oligo Chip 30K

(GNI Corporate Outline)

GNI is the worlds No. 1 bio venture enterprise in the application of gene control network technologies in the age of genome. GNIs drug inventing platform was established from gene destruction expression data on an analytical algorithm yeast base, microarray technology, and other advanced biotechnologies, to which high informatics technology has been integrated. It is carrying on joint development with its own R&D and pharmaceutical companies, etc.

(GNI streamlined drug design)

A new paradigm proposed by GNI refers to streamlined drug design. This concept is ambitiously intended for expansion to targeting and screening without being confined merely to the conventional narrow field of target selection through clinical medicine. The founding scientists of GNI are world-known authorities on gene control networks, which is the key to system approaches for understanding and controlling gene expression adjustment structure within biocells. Different from other enterprises trying to discover chemicals by using conventional approaches that focus on individual gene functions from among genome analysis data, GNI has established an epoch-making methodology to discover effective targets by identifying causal genes for two different states of sickness and healthiness and is discovering a wide pathway of gene relationships and their interactions. Without understanding intergenic control networks, it is not possible to understand the comprehensive effects of a chemical if it is administered to a certain cell. Chemical development during periods when no knowledge of gene control networks was available depended mostly on trial and error that involved a number of tests and an enormous amount of data. The rate of successful clinical experiments for pharmaceutical industries in those days did not improve, while R&D expenses rose sharply.
The streamlined drug design by GNI enables more efficient target discovery than conventional methods or other medicine invention methods based on advanced genome analysis. Not only is it efficient, but it is also a methodology for developing new chemical classes or pharmaceutical targets of higher medicinal effect, with more effect on individual symptoms and fewer side effects. GNI has realized its network analysis technologies by integrating gene targeting, experimental system biology, gene expression and modeling, and other advanced technologies.

(Professor Kuharas profile)

Name: Satoru Kuhara

Faculty: Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, School of Agriculture

Title: Professor

Degree: Doctor of Agriculture

Specialty: Bioscience and Bioinformatics

Satoru Kuhara is a world-famous pioneer in the fields of computational biology and gene networks. His achievements have been introduced to the worlds first-rate research magazines and societies. He is a patentee for various inventions in several research areas. Presently, he is Professor of Genetic Techniques at the Graduate School of Genetic Resources Technology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyushu University (recognized as one of the top schools in Japan and Asia by the AsiaWeek magazine, etc.). He is a founding member of the Japanese Society for Bioinformatics and Chairman of the Planning Committee, Fukuoka Bio Industry Promotion Council. He received his Doctorate of Science from the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University.

(Professor Miyanos Profile)

Name: Satoru Miyano

Faculty: Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo

Title: Professor

Degree: Doctorate of Science

Specialty: DNA Information Analysis, Computational Quantity Theory, and Machine Learning and Discoveries

Satoru Miyano is Professor and Vice Dean of the Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo. As a leader of gene information analysis and bioinformatics, his work is well known in these fields throughout the world. For his achievements in information science, Dr. Miyano was awarded the Special Sakai Memorial Prize by the Information Processing Society of Japan and the IBM Science Prize. He is a founding member of the Japan Bioinformatics Society. He graduated from the course of Mathematics Studies, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University and received his doctorate.

(Association between HitachiSoft and DNA Chip Research Inc.)

Professor Kuhara, DNA Chip Research, and HitachiSoft have been in a closely cooperating relationship since the foundation of DNA Chip Research, Inc. For example, HyperGene® Yeast chip, the first Japan made DNA chip, was developed from cDNA libraries of yeast collected by Professor Kuhara. He made many useful suggestions in relation to the development of DNASIS® , an analysis software hit around the world.

(For any enquiry on this release, please contact the persons below)

HitachiSoft

Takano, President Office

TEL:03-5780-6450

e-mail:m-takano@hitachisoft.jp

Gene Networks, Inc. (Japan)

Japan Head Office:

TEL:03-5774-6018 FAX:03-5774-6190 GNI R&D Lab

TEL:0942-36-8633 FAX:0942-36-8655

e-mail:info@gene-networks.co