Kodak’s Scientific Imaging Systems Unit to Market 20/20 GeneSystems’ Proteomics Product

ROCKVILLE, MD – December 10, 2001 – Kodak Scientific Imaging Systems, a unit of Eastman Kodak Company, has entered an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement with 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. (www.2020gene.com) to market the company’s 20/20’s product for multiplex analysis of proteins separated on electrophoresis gels. The multiplex nature of the product substantially reduces the inconsistencies and manual labor associated with running multiple separate gels using conventional techniques. The product is being promoted at the American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on December 8 – 12

This is the first in a family of products being introduced by 20/20 based on its highly innovative proprietary platform technology that it calls Protein Function Identification Layered Membranes (P-FILM). Whereas conventional film captures light to create a photographic image, P-FILM captures the molecules of life - DNA, RNA, and protein – to create a biological image of the sample to which it is applied.  The company therefore refers to this technology as Film for Life™.

Groups of proteins form signaling pathways to carry out key biological functions within cells. Most diseases – including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, and psychiatric disorders – result from the malfunctioning of one or more proteins within a signaling pathway.  Many drugs are being developed to reverse the effects of malfunctioning signaling proteins, including a new class of designer “smart drugs” that attack tumors. P-FILM can be applied to diseased tissue to determine which proteins in the pathway are functioning abnormally and help predict whether a particular drug will effectively treat that disease.  

Kodak and 20/20 anticipate an expanding business relationship that may include marketing rights to future 20/20 products. Other Film for Life™ products 20/20 plans to launch in 2002 include kits for analysis of DNA and RNA electrophoresis gels, software to analyze images generated by these kits, and a rapid assay for use in bioterrorism defense. The company is also negotiating alliances with pharmaceutical companies to help them identify protein profiles of patients most likely to respond to their candidate drugs.

“Kodak’s marketing muscle and brand respect will allow this innovative technology to achieve rapid market adoption and should yield tremendous opportunities for both companies,” said 20/20 GeneSystems’ CEO Jonathan Cohen. “It will also help speed research into treating a wide range of diseases.”  

“20/20 GeneSystems’ innovative technology provides Kodak with a very exciting initial product to combine with its world-leading BioMax films and digital imaging systems for protein analysis,” said Bill McLaughlin, Kodak Scientific Imaging Systems’ Business Development Manager. “The new BioMax MultiBlot Kit for Proteins increases the number of images and resulting data from each protein gel by up to tenfold, allowing researchers in both large and small laboratories to rapidly scale up their proteomic throughput with only minor modifications to their standard protocols.”

About Kodak’s Scientific Imaging Systems Unit

Kodak’s Scientific Imaging Systems unit (www.kodak.com/go/scientific), located in Rochester, NY and New Haven, CT, is a world leader in the development and marketing of films and digital imaging systems for Life Science Research. The product developed by 20/20 will be used by many of the same institutions that use Kodak products in connection with electrophoresis gel and blot imaging.

About 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc.

20/20 GeneSystems (www.2020gene.com), based in Rockville, MD, was founded in May 2000 to co-develop the P-FILM technology with the National Cancer Institute.The privately-held company maintains exclusive rights to this technology.

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