Press Release

Protein Discovery, Inc. Launches Mass Spectrometry Tissue Imaging Service

Knoxville, Tennessee, October 25, 2005—Protein Discovery, Inc., a privately held life sciences company, today announced the launch of its new mass spectrometry tissue imaging service. The service will enable pharmaceutical and biotech organizations to take advantage of powerful new tissue imaging and profiling methods without setting up and staffing expensive in-house facilities. Based on proprietary processes and exclusive technology licenses from Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas, the service will provide unique and valuable insights into protein expression, disease progression and drug metabolism.

Protein Discovery has funded the start-up costs of the new service using proceeds from its recent $2.2 million Series B financing. The Series B round was led by the Southern Appalachian Fund, with additional participation by MB Venture Partners, Nashville Capital Network, Vanderbilt University, and others. The investment will be supplemented by additional financial support from the Southern Appalachian Fund's Operational Assistance program.

"We are pleased by the support of our new and existing investors and are excited to provide this valuable new service for our customers, said Chuck Witkowski, president and chief executive officer of Protein Discovery. "The additional financing and the service business will provide operational cash flow and allow us to accelerate our product development efforts."

"I've been watching the evolution of Protein Discovery closely for several years," said Grady Vanderhoofven, executive vice president of Southern Appalachian Management Company, LLC, the General Partner of the Southern Appalachian Fund. "I've watched the company attract people of the highest caliber, like Dean Hafeman and Andrea Mravca, and I've observed the market for Protein Discovery's products and services. Protein Discovery has tremendous potential, and our investment will help fuel the company's growth. We expect the company to build on its impressive foundation and become a superstar in the industry."

Imaging Mass Spectrometry
Imaging Mass Spectrometry is a powerful new method of proteomics and drug metabolism analysis developed in the Caprioli Research Laboratory in the Mass Spectrometry Research Center of the Vanderbilt Medical Center. The method enables direct spectrometric analysis of tissues, yielding highly specific, spatially resolved molecular profiles of targeted regions. Data from these analyses may form prognostic or diagnostic markers of disease, or reveal potential therapeutic and toxic effects of drug compounds prior to clinical testing. The technology can also help pharmaceutical researchers determine the metabolic processing of new drug compounds and whether the compounds are successfully reaching targeted tissues.

Protein Discovery, Inc. has retained exclusive worldwide licenses from Vanderbilt University to provide these commercial imaging mass spectrometry services and to develop associated sample preparation products. Protein Discovery has also retained rights from the University of Texas to perform the imaging services. This intellectual property portfolio provides the company with the exclusive rights to provide imaging mass spectrometry services for preclinical purposes.

About Protein Discovery
Protein Discovery, Inc. is a privately held life sciences company developing solutions for molecular research, drug discovery and development, and medical diagnostics using high throughput mass spectrometry. The company's imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) service allows pharmaceutical and biotech customers to gain important insights into disease progression and metabolic response. The company is also developing a powerful suite of sample preparation products specifically designed to meet the data quality and throughput demands of customers using mass spectrometry in the life sciences industry. The ability to reproducibly identify and quantify suites of clinically significant biomarkers with spatial resolution will enhance patient health by improving the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease. For additional information, please visit www.proteindiscovery.com.

For more information about our investors, please visit their web sites:

Southern Appalachian Management Company: http://www.southappfund.com/
MB Venture Partners: http://www.mbventures.com/
Nashville Capital Network: http://www.nashvillecapital.com/
Vanderbilt University: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/

TOP