WaferGen's SmartChip(TM) Real-Time PCR System to Begin Alpha Testing at University of Pittsburgh Medi...( Company Sends Final Alpha System a...),Health

Company Sends Final Alpha System and Key Oncology Gene Panel Assays to

Collaborators at University of Pittsburgh Medical School

FREMONT, Calif., June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WaferGen Biosystems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: WGBS), a leading developer of state-of-the-art gene expression, genotyping, cell biology and stem cell research systems, today announced that it has shipped the alpha version of its SmartChip(TM) Real-Time PCR System, as well as proprietary oncology gene panel assays to be used with the system, to the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. This milestone will allow researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School to initiate the alpha testing program for the system and panels as part of the group's alpha testing and research collaboration with WaferGen. The SmartChip Real-Time PCR System is designed as the first whole genome, high throughput gene expression real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platform and promises to deliver significant speed and cost advantages to researchers in the gene expression and genotyping markets.

The SmartChip Real-Time PCR System has the capacity to conduct 30,000 assays on a single chip. Comparatively, today's standard real-time PCR technologies are only able to run 384 assays on a single plate. Additionally, each of the system's wells is designed to support a real-time PCR reaction of 100 nanoliters. This represents a 1,000 fold decrease in the amount of reagent and sample required by today's standard real-time PCR technologies. The result is the ability to conduct gene expression research at a fraction of the time and cost associated with current technologies.

Under terms of WaferGen's collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, researchers will leverage the high-throughput real-time PCR capabilities of WaferGen's SmartChip Real-Time PCR System to support their identification of therapeutically-relevant biomarkers in the areas of chronic
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