Isis' Ibis Biosciences Subsidiary Highlights the Power of the Ibis T5000 Pathogen Identification and Characterization System at the ICAAC/ID...( CARLSBAD Calif. Oct. 24 /- IsisPh...)

CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISIS) announced today that its majority-owned subsidiary, Ibis Biosciences, Inc. (Ibis), and collaborators are presenting research highlighting the ability of the Ibis T5000(TM) Biosensor System to rapidly and accurately detect and characterize pathogens, including drug-resistant and highly virulent pathogens, for use in a broad array of applications, such as healthcare-associated infection (HAI) control. Seven posters and oral presentations will be presented by Ibis scientists and collaborators at the 48th Annual International Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and the 46th Annual Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) Meeting to be held in Washington, DC beginning tomorrow, October 25, 2008.

Ibis and collaborators will present data demonstrating the efficiency of the Ibis technology to quickly identify serious bacterial and viral infectious pathogens that are prevalent in health care settings, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, C. difficile, and A. baumannii. Using the Ibis T5000 system, scientists were able to provide key information on each agent, including strain type and genetic factors that control pathogenicity, in as few as six hours, a timeframe that would likely enable a health care facility to effectively control the infection.

"We have found the Ibis technology to be a valuable adjunct to our outbreak investigations," said Maureen Bolon, M.D., Medical Director of the Antibiotic Utilization Team and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University, when commenting on Ibis' ability to detect and characterize HAI agents.

Ibis and collaborators are also
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