AFFX Affymetrix, Inc.

Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) and Iconix Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that the companies have signed a collaborative agreement to develop solutions to aid in the study of the toxicological and pharmacological properties of drugs and drug candidates. The collaboration will aim to significantly accelerate the drug development process by combining Affymetrix' GeneChip(R) microarray technology with Iconix' DrugMatrix(R) 640 compound reference database and analysis software. Together, Affymetrix' GeneChip expression arrays and Iconix' analysis methods will provide detailed information on a drug candidate's toxicological liabilities and pharmacological properties. Using such tools, researchers will be able to quickly compare gene expression profiles to the Iconix' Drug Signatures(R) library to help predict the impact that gene expression changes may have on biological pathways critical to the body's toxic response to drugs. This information will help scientists to better prioritize candidates and make preclinical development decisions faster than ever before. "We are pleased to work with Affymetrix on this program which we believe will remove what has been a major hurdle to the widespread application of toxicogenomics to drug discovery," said Don Halbert, Ph.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Iconix Pharmaceuticals. "The new paradigm will streamline all the steps required to help companies put gene expression data into the context of toxicology. Arming pharmaceutical companies with the fullest available chemogenomic and pharmacologic data is expected to better enable candidate prioritization and move development decisions earlier in the drug development process." "We are pleased to join forces with Iconix to further explore the area of toxicogenomics because we are convinced that it will help revolutionize the drug discovery and development process," said John E. Blume, Ph.D., vice president of RNA Products at Affymetrix. "By combining our gold-standard GeneChip microarray technology with Iconix' toxicology expertise, we believe we can accelerate research and improve the quality of drug candidates." About Iconix: Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is pioneering the new field of chemogenomics, the integration of chemistry and genomics to profile drug candidates. Iconix' chemogenomic capabilities enable pharmaceutical companies to increase the odds of advancing the right compounds to the clinic, reducing attrition rates and the costs of drug discovery. Iconix provides reference systems and know-how to predict toxic liabilities, side effects and mechanisms of drug candidates. The company has collaborations with Bristol Myers Squibb, Abbott Laboratories, ICOS, Eli Lilly, Schering-Plough (NYSE:SGP), AstraZeneca, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd. and other leading companies. Iconix also provides research, training and support to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) under an agreement to advance CDER's study of the application of genomic technologies in the regulatory approval process. Iconix' DrugMatrix system has been installed at the FDA for use by CDER scientists and reviewers in a diverse range of chemogenomics applications. The company also has strategic partnerships with leading life sciences companies including MDS Pharma Services (TSE:MDS; NYSE:MDZ) and GE Healthcare. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Iconix was founded in 1998 and is privately held. For more information, visit www.iconixpharm.com. About Affymetrix: Affymetrix scientists invented the world's first microarray in 1989 and began selling the first commercial microarray in 1994. Since then, Affymetrix GeneChip(R) technology has become the industry standard in molecular biology research. Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies as well as leading academic, government and not-for-profit research institutes. More than 1,300 GeneChip systems have been shipped around the world and more than 4,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology. Affymetrix' patented photolithographic manufacturing process provides the highest information capacity available today on an array, enabling researchers to use a whole-genome approach to analyze the relationship between genetics and health. Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., and Bedford, Mass. The company maintains important sales and marketing operations in Europe and Asia and has about 1,000 employees worldwide. For more information about Affymetrix, please visit the company's website at www.affymetrix.com. All statements in this press release that are not historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including statements regarding Affymetrix' "expectations," "beliefs," "hopes," "intentions," "strategies" or the like. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected, including, but not limited to: risks of the Company's ability to achieve and sustain higher levels of revenue, higher gross margins, reduced operating expenses; uncertainties relating to technological approaches, manufacturing (including risks related to the Company's ability to achieve hoped-for manufacturing yields for certain array products, including the ability to identify and resolve manufacturing problems), product development (including uncertainties relating to commercial and technological success of the strategic alliance between Iconix and Affymetrix discussed in this press release); personnel retention; uncertainties related to cost and pricing of Affymetrix products; dependence on collaborative partners; uncertainties relating to sole source suppliers; uncertainties relating to FDA and other regulatory approvals; competition; risks relating to intellectual property of others and the uncertainties of patent protection and litigation. These and other risk factors are discussed in Affymetrix' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and other SEC reports, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for subsequent quarterly periods. Affymetrix expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Affymetrix' expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements are based. NOTE: Affymetrix, the Affymetrix logo, and GeneChip are registered trademarks owned or used by Affymetrix Inc.