GNSC Genaissance Pharmaceuticals (MM)

- Will Address EU Mandate for Sheep-Breeding Programs That Confer Resistance to Scrapie - NEW HAVEN, Conn., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNSC) announced today that it will provide its high-throughput sample handling and genotyping services to Antisel A. Selidis Bros. S.A., which has been awarded a contract by the Hellenic Ministry of Rural Development and Food as part of Greece's efforts to implement the European Union's mandate for establishing a breeding program in sheep that confers resistance to scrapie. Antisel is Genaissance's distributor for its products and services in Greece, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. There is no scientific evidence to indicate that scrapie possesses a risk to human health, but the disease has serious economic consequences for sheep producers whose flocks become infected with the disease. Scientists have identified forms of a sheep gene that may determine a sheep's susceptibility to being infected with scrapie. "We are delighted that Genaissance will be the exclusive genotyping provider for this contract," said Gerald F. Vovis, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Genaissance. "We have been providing similar genotyping services to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under its National Scrapie Eradication Program, for over a year now." "We have a relationship with Whatman to further develop the Ag genotyping market," Dr. Vovis continued. "With Whatman, we believe that we address both the sample collection and genotyping issues so that we will have a competitive advantage for the growing trait identification and traceability market." "We are pleased to be working with Genaissance," said Alan Kofsky, Vice President Sales, Whatman, Inc. "We believe that our proprietary FTA(R) cards are ideal for collecting samples, especially for the Ag market where samples have to be collected in the field. The cards inactivate infectious agents, can be shipped and stored at room temperature and are suitable for automated DNA processing." About Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing innovative products based on its proprietary pharmacogenomic technology and has a revenue-generating business in DNA and pharmacogenomic products and services. Genaissance also markets its proprietary FAMILION(TM) Test, designed to detect mutations responsible for causing Familial Long QT and Brugada Syndromes, two causes of sudden cardiac death. The Company's product development strategy is focused on drug candidates with promising clinical profiles and finding genetic markers to identify a responsive patient population. This strategy is designed to enable Genaissance to leverage existing clinical data and, thus, reduce the costs and risks associated with traditional drug development and increase the probability of clinical success and commercialization. The Company's lead therapeutic product, vilazodone for depression, is in Phase II of development. For more information on Genaissance, visit the Company's website at: http://www.genaissance.com/. This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the expected growth and development of Genaissance's business, such as Genaissance's ability to effectively complete its vilazodone and clozapine programs, detect associations between clinical outcomes and genetic variation, the ability to assess how genetic variation can affect drug response, efforts to build a drug candidate pipeline, the timing and outcome of its genetic testing programs and the ability of Genaissance to apply its technologies to the development, marketing and prescribing of drugs and Genaissance's ability to detect associations between clinical outcomes and genetic variation. Such statements are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to in such statements, including, but not limited to, Genaissance's ability to fund its drug development efforts, the extent to which genetic markers (haplotypes) are predictive of clinical outcomes and drug efficacy and safety, the attraction of new business and strategic partners, the adoption of the Company's technologies by the pharmaceutical industry, the acceptance of the Company's cardiac tests by health care providers, the timing and success of clinical trials, competition from pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics companies, the strength of the Company's intellectual property rights and those risks identified in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2005, and in other filings the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of Genaissance as of the date of this release. Genaissance disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement. FTA(R) is a registered trademark of Whatman Plc. DATASOURCE: Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Gerald F. Vovis, Ph.D., Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer of Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-203-786-3423, ; or Investors: Rhonda Chiger of Rx Communications, +1-917-322-2569, Web site: http://www.genaissance.com/

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