RNS Number:5130O
Genetix Group PLC
11 August 2003

                  Genetix launches the aliQuot liquid handler
Pre-launch orders placed by two of the top three major pharmaceutical companies


Boston, USA, 11 August 2003 - Genetix Group plc (LSE: GTX), the genomics and
proteomics technology group, today announces the launch of the aliQuot, an
automated solution for the low volume dispensing of reagents, chemicals, cells,
beads, reaction mixes and other media, at the Drug Discovery Technology
conference in Boston, USA.

The aliQuot, a desktop machine, uses a proprietary fast pressure-timing dispense
mechanism to fill a 1536-well plate with one microlitre in under 30 seconds. The
level of accuracy (well-to-well CV of approximately 5%) is unsurpassed by any
other instrument in its price bracket. The major markets for this product will
be drug discovery, forensics, genetic screening, genomics research and high
throughput screening.

Low volume dispensing is economically beneficial to pharmaceutical companies
when testing compounds with reagents which can cost thousands of dollars per
millilitre. Using smaller volumes in these assays enables a greater number of
tests to be carried out, or the same number of tests at less cost.  Another
feature of the aliQuot which reduces the cost of assays is a backfilling
function which allows unused compound or reagent remaining in the dispensing
pipes to be flushed back into the reservoir bottle for future use.

Future developments are likely to include the simultaneous dispensing of up to
eight reagents.

Julian Burke PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Genetix, commented:

"The aliQuot makes small volume dispensing accessible to laboratories previously
unable to conduct assays on this scale because of budget or space constraints,
it also offers a more economical solution to those larger companies already
conducting tests on this level.  Building on skills acquired during the
development of the Qfill2 liquid handler, Genetix is able to offer this small
volume capability at excellent speed and accuracy to it customers.  Multiple
pre-launch orders have already been received by two of the three leading
pharmaceutical companies."


Enquiries:

Genetix Group plc                            Tel:  01425 624600
Julian F Burke PhD, CSO

Financial Dynamics                           Tel:  020 7831 3113
Sarah MacLeod / Francetta Carr



About Genetix

Genetix Group plc is based in New Milton, Hampshire, UK.  It develops,
manufactures and markets high-throughput equipment and related items used for
research into human, and plant genomics, proteomics and cell biology.  It
currently supplies equipment to more than 150 customers worldwide in the
pharmaceutical, agricultural and food industries including GlaxoSmithKline,
AstraZeneca, Novartis, Celera Genomics, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and the Max
Planck Institutes.  In addition, the Group has made a significant contribution
to the Human Genome Project by supplying equipment to seven of the leading eight
laboratories involved in the consortia.  Genetix acquired the Genpak group in
October 2000 before floating successfully on the London Stock Exchange in
November 2000.

aliQuot

The aliQuot encompasses a variety of low-volume dispensing requirements in one
instrument.  It allows precise dispensing into 1,536, 384 and 96-well
microplates.  A range of interchangeable reagent reservoirs, ranging from 60 ml
to 2 litres in volume, is available to suit the requirements of each individual
dispensing run and reagent.  The aliQuot is compatible with aqueous and
DMSO-based solutions and is programmable for liquids of different viscosities.
The system is small enough to fit into a laminar flow cabinet for sterile
dispensing application, and can be controlled remotely using an RS232 port.

A photograph and full specification sheet are also available for this product.


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