AFFX Affymetrix, Inc.

ARLINGTON, Va., March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Life Science Executive Exchange -- an online community of senior executives -- together with The Scientist (http://www.the-scientist.com/) and The Science Advisory Board (http://www.scienceboard.net/) is pleased to announce the finalists of the 2006 Life Science Industry Awards. The winners will be announced at a cocktail reception on April 3 at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. More than 2,400 scientists from around the world were independently surveyed by leading market research firm BioInformatics, LLC (http://www.gene2drug.com/). The thousands of participating scientists cast their votes for the companies that have made the greatest contributions to life science technology in the past year. As a result, the awards recognize those life science suppliers voted "best-in-class" in each of the 12 product categories, and six communications and support categories, to include: Product Categories -- Cell Biology Instrumentation -- Cell Biology Kits and Reagents -- Cell Culture Media, Reagents and Plasticware -- Computer Hardware -- Gene Expression Analysis Products -- High Throughput Screening and Analysis Systems -- Image Analysis Systems -- Instrumentation for Genomic Analysis -- Instrumentation for Protein Analysis -- Nucleic Acid Purification Products -- Protein Separation Products -- RNAi Products Communication and Support Categories -- Print Catalog -- Customer Service -- Technical Support -- Web Site -- Sales Representatives -- Print Advertisement Although hundreds of organizations were nominated as "best-in-class", the finalists include: Affymetrix (NASDAQ:AFFX) Ambion Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI) BD Biosciences (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE:BDX) Beckman Coulter (NYSE:BEC) Bio-Rad Laboratories (AMEX:BIOAMEX:andAMEX:BIOb) Carl Zeiss Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) Dharmacon (Fisher Scientific) (NYSE:FSH) Fisher Scientific (NYSE:FSH) GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) HP/Compaq (NYSE:HPQNASDAQ:HPQ) Invitrogen (NASDAQ:IVGN) Kodak Molecular Imaging Systems (Eastman Kodak) (NYSE:EK) Molecular Devices (NASDAQ:MDCC) New England Biolabs PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences (NYSE:PKI) Pierce Biotechnology (Fisher Scientific) (NYSE:FSH) Promega Qiagen (NASDAQ:QGEN) Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ:SIAL) VWR Scientific "We're honored to have the opportunity to participate in this year's awards," said Karen Blaine, Executive Director of The Life Science Executive Exchange. "Suppliers that exemplify cutting-edge innovation and customer support deserve recognition for their contributions to the advancement of the life sciences. What makes these awards so unique is that the recognition comes not only from the scientific customers who choose the winners but also from their colleagues in industry who will be in attendance." To honor these top companies for their outstanding performance and to present the awards to the winners, The Life Science Executive Exchange and their supporting partners will host an evening cocktail reception on April 3, 2006. This event will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C., which will coincide with the 2006 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. For more information about this event, contact: Karen L. Blaine The Life Science Executive Exchange 703.778.3080 x16 (phone) http://www.lifescienceexec.com/ The Life Science Industry Awards are given to top life science suppliers for their outstanding and unparalleled performance. They are hosted by The Scientist magazine with the support of The Life Science Executive Exchange and The Science Advisory Board. To learn more about these organizations, please visit http://www.lifescienceindustryawards.com/organizations.html. DATASOURCE: The Life Science Executive Exchange CONTACT: Karen L. Blaine of The Life Science Executive Exchange, +1-703-778-3080 x16, or Web site: http://www.lifescienceindustryawards.com/ http://www.the-scientist.com/ http://www.scienceboard.net/ http://www.gene2drug.com/

Copyright