The Immune Tolerance Institute, Sequenom and the University of California, San Francisco to Develop Advanced Diagnostic Test for

SAN FRANCISCO & SAN DIEGO, Jan 13, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
SQNM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The Immune Tolerance Institute, Inc. (ITI), and Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ:
SQNM), today announced a collaboration to develop an advanced newborn
screening test for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) based on the
pioneering work of Jennifer Puck, MD, of the University of California,
San Francisco (UCSF). A successful feasibility study was recently
completed demonstrating the adaptability of Dr. Puck's RT-PCR screening
assay for SCID diagnosis on the MassARRAY(R) platform developed
by Sequenom.

"This collaboration goes to the very heart of ITI's mission by bringing
together the best of industry and academia in order to solve a complex
medical problem," said Dr. Louis Matis, ITI's President and CEO. "Severe
combined immunodeficiency is curable by bone marrow transplantation if
it is detected early. The goal of our collaboration is to make newborn
screening for this rare but deadly disease a reality and alleviate the
terrible suffering for these infants and their families."

"We are very pleased to collaborate with the Immune Tolerance Institute,
UCSF and Dr. Puck to significantly improve outcomes for newborns
afflicted with devastating SCID," said Harry Stylli, Ph.D., President
and CEO of Sequenom. "At Sequenom we are committed to developing
cutting-edge diagnostic tools that will enable physicians to accurately
detect serious genetic disorders as early as possible. This application
is reflective of the broad applicability of our MassARRAY system and is
in line with our goal of increasing Sequenom's reach in the field of
molecular diagnostics."

"Although universal newborn screening for metabolic conditions is well
established, screening for immune disorders is new," said Dr. Puck, a
Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Institute for Human
Genetics at UCSF, and Program Director of the Pediatric Clinical
Research Center within the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science
Institute. "Immunologists and public health professionals have
recognized the value of SCID screening, but a high-throughput,
sensitive, specific and cost-effective test is needed. This
collaboration between UCSF, ITI and Sequenom is an ideal way to
translate my laboratory research on T-cell receptor excision circles
into the clinic."

Sequenom's proprietary MassARRAY system is a high-performance DNA
analysis platform that efficiently and precisely measures the amount of
genetic target material and variations therein. The system is able to
deliver reliable and specific data from complex biological samples and
from genetic target material that is only available in trace amounts.

For further information on the SCID Screening Project at ITI, please
visit www.iti-immune.org
or contact ITI at 650-328-8595.

About Severe Combined Immunodeficiency
Disease

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a spectrum of genetic
disorders leading to profound immune system dysfunction. Without
intervention, infants with SCID die of infections early in life. SCID
infants treated with bone marrow transplantation before experiencing
infections have a better than 95% chance of full recovery, whereas those
treated after their health has been compromised by severe infections,
have much greater morbidity and mortality. In the absence of screening
for SCID, most cases are not diagnosed early; in fact, the exact
incidence of the disease is unknown since death often occurs without a
definitive diagnosis having been made.

About ITI

The Immune Tolerance Institute (ITI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization founded in partnership with the University of California,
San Francisco (UCSF) to fill critical unmet needs for translating
fundamental scientific discoveries into new diagnostic tools and
therapies for the broad range of diseases related to the human immune
system, including autoimmune diseases, allergy, asthma, cancer, and
cardiovascular and infectious diseases. ITI is a milestone and
value-driven company uniquely positioned at the intersection of academia
and biopharma that offers a comprehensive constellation of scientific
and bio-pharmaceutical industry expertise and services to convert
knowledge-based discoveries into market-accessible products for immune
system related conditions. At the company's Center for Critical Path
Immunology, established as part of a recently announced collaboration
with Beckman Coulter, Inc., multiple technology platforms are being
deployed in integrated fashion to perform comprehensive cellular,
molecular and immunological assays on specimens obtained from patients
during clinical trials of emerging immunotherapeutics. The mechanistic
data that are generated from these assays will be analyzed in parallel
with clinical safety and efficacy data using cutting-edge bioinformatic
approaches that leverage new insights at the nexus of emerging life
science and information technologies. This approach to critical path
science is designed to shorten development times, reduce both costs and
failure rates in drug development and guide better informed patient
selection for targeted therapies. The Institute is led by a management
team with roots in both biomedical research and the biotechnology
industry, and a board of directors including leaders in translational
medicine. For more information, visit http://www.iti-immune.org.

About Sequenom

Sequenom is committed to providing the best genetic analysis products
that translate the results of genome science into solutions for
noninvasive prenatal and genetic diagnostics, biomedical research,
translational research and molecular medicine applications. The
Company's proprietary MassARRAY system is a high-performance (in speed,
accuracy and cost efficiency) nucleic acid analysis platform that
quantitatively and precisely measures genetic target material and
variations. The Company has exclusively licensed intellectual property
rights for the development and commercialization of noninvasive prenatal
genetic tests for use with the MassARRAY system and other platforms. For
more information on Sequenom, please visit the company's Web site at www.sequenom.com.

Sequenom(R) and MassARRAY(R) are trademarks of
Sequenom, Inc.

About UCSF

The University of California, San Francisco, UCSF, is a leading
university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced
biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and
health professions, and excellence in patient care. (www.ucsf.edu)

Safe harbor

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
set forth in this press release, including statements regarding the
expectations of, intentions of, goals of, and future impact of the
collaboration to develop an advanced newborn screening test for SCID,
and Sequenom's goal of increasing its reach in molecular diagnostics,
are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor"
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks
and uncertainties associated with new technology and product development
and commercialization particularly for new technologies such as
molecular diagnostics, reliance upon the collaborative efforts of other
parties such as ITI and UCSF, research and development progress,
competition, intellectual property protection, government regulation,
obtaining or maintaining regulatory approvals, and other risks detailed
from time to time in the Company's SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission) filings, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2007 and other documents subsequently
filed with or furnished to the SEC. These forward-looking statements are
based on current information that may change and you are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking
statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement,
and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the
issuance of this press release.

SOURCE: Sequenom, Inc.

Immune Tolerance Institute, Inc.
Louis A. Matis, M.D.
203-292-6940
lmatis@iti-immune.org
or
Rx Communications Group
Eric Goldman (media)
917-322-2563
egoldman@rxir.com
or
Sequenom, Inc.
Paul W. Hawran, Chief Financial Officer
858-202-9000
or
Investor Relations Contact
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates
Jody Cain / Kevin McCabe, 310-691-7100
or
Media Relations
Pure Communications
Sheryl Seapy, 949-608-0841

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