• Tecan and Luminex agree to integrate Tecan’s sample preparation and handling instrumentation with Luminex’s xMAP™ technology

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC and AUSTIN, TEXAS, June 5 /PRNewswire - FirstCall/ – Tecan (Swiss SWX: TECN) and Luminex Corporation (Nasdaq: LMNX) announced today that they have entered into a strategic alliance to couple Luminex’s proprietary xMAP technology with Tecan’s line of automation products.  The two companies also agreed to co-market the resulting systems.  The initial phase of the alliance will center on developing software and hardware components necessary to integrate Luminex’s proprietary xMAP technology with Tecan’s bio-robotic liquid handling instrumentation and sample preparation systems.  The first-generation systems are expected to be available late 2002.  The second phase of the alliance involves a non-exclusive co-marketing arrangement, under which the companies will market the combined systems to their current and prospective customers.

“We are pleased to enter into an agreement that will enable us to supply systems to our customers based both on Luminex and Tecan core technologies,” said Carl Severinghaus, General Manager of Tecan US.  “We believe that this integration of technologies from both companies will provide our customers throughout the Life Science industry with breakthrough solutions that significantly increase the throughput and flexibility of the analytical procedures these products will address while reducing costs.”

“We are excited to be working with Tecan. By collaborating with a world leader in liquid handling and sample preparation, a total bioassay solution can be offered to a broad range of customers, including the highest throughput laboratories,” stated Gail S. Page, Executive Vice President of Luminex.  “This strategic alliance is a vital step in securing xMAP technology as an industry standard platform.”

Luminex’s open platform xMAP system is a proprietary technology that performs up to 100 assays simultaneously on a single drop of fluid with the capability for both medium- and high-throughput assay applications.  xMAP combines the use of low-cost microsphere-based assays with small lasers, advanced digital signal processors and proprietary software to offer greater speed, precision and flexibility over current bioassay technologies.

About Tecan

Tecan (www.tecan.com) is a leading player in the Life Sciences supply industry that specializes in the development, production and distribution of solutions enabling the discovery of pharmaceutical substances, as well as for genomics, proteomics and diagnostics. Tecan clients are leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, university research departments and diagnostic laboratories. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has manufacturing, research and development sites in both North America and Europe and maintains a sales and service network in 52 countries. In 2001, Tecan achieved sales of CH 361.9 million (USD 214.1 million; EUR 239.6 million).  Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the Swiss SWX stock exchange (TK: TECN / Reuters: TECZn.S / Valor : 1210019).

About Luminex

Luminex Corporation (www.luminexcorp.com) develops, manufactures and markets proprietary biological testing technologies with applications throughout the life sciences industry.  The company’s xMAP system is an open-architecture, multi-analyte technology platform that delivers fast, accurate and cost-effective bioassay results to markets as diverse as pharmaceutical drug discovery, clinical diagnostics and biomedical research, including the genomics and proteomics research markets.  The company’s xMAP technology is sold worldwide and is already in use in leading research laboratories as well as major pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies.

Statements made in this press release that express Luminex’s or management’s intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or predictions of future events are forward-looking statements.  The words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “will” and similar expressions are intended to further identify such forward-looking statements.  It is important to note that the company’s actual results or performance could differ materially from those anticipated or projected in such forward-looking statements.  Factors that could cause Luminex’s actual results or performance to differ materially include risks and uncertainties relating to market demand and acceptance of Luminex’s products, the company’s dependence on strategic partners for development, commercialization and distribution of products, fluctuations in quarterly results due to a lengthy and unpredictable sales cycle, competition, Luminex’s ability to scale manufacturing operations, potential shortages of components and the timing of regulatory approvals, as well as the risks discussed under the heading “Factors That May Affect Future Results” in Luminex’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2002, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of Luminex as of the date of this press release, and Luminex expressly disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in Luminex’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.    

For more information, please contact :

Rochat & Partners:

Rochat & Partners
Christophe Lamps 
Tel.: +41 (0)22 786 54 55
Fax: +41 (0)22 786 54 58
e-mail: clamps@rochat-pr.ch

Luminex Corporation:

Harriss Currie
Acting Chief Financial Officer
Tel.: +1 (888) 219 8020
e-mail: hcurrie@luminexcorp.com