The Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute, Inc. (NADII) and Myriad Genetics, Inc. today announced a two-year, $33.5 million partnership in cereal crop genomics. The entire $33.5 million is in the form of upfront payments and research funding, which Myriad will receive over the two-year term of the agreement. Upon completion, NADII and Myriad will jointly offer commercial access to the genomic databases and share the resulting benefits .

The genomic collaboration will focus on the discovery of the genetic structure of cereal crops such as rice, maize, wheat, barley and oats. Understanding the genetic structure of these crops will help plant breeders to improve the quality of grain and increase crop yields. This collaboration could eventually lead to safer, healthier food.

NADII is one of the world's leading agricultural genomics institutes, at the forefront of efforts to
describe the structure and function of crop genomes. Steven P. Briggs, Ph.D., Head of NADII
commented, "Cereal genomic research is a clear opportunity for major scientific discoveries and
social benefits. Our program will complement university and National Laboratory initiatives in
genomics. We will publish our conclusions and the data that support them in a very open manner.
Access to our unpublished genomics data will be available to scientists outside of the Institute to
support collaborations with NADII researchers. Together with Myriad, we will explore opportunities
to commercialize access to our cereal genome databases. We're very excited about our partnership with Myriad; their state-of-the-art capillary sequencing capability is second to none.''

Myriad Genetics is a leading gene sequencing organization. The Company's new ultra high-throughput facility, based upon the latest generation of capillary DNA sequencing instruments can routinely produce large quantities of high quality DNA information. Myriad is using its ultra high-throughput DNA sequencing capability to pursue the discovery of animal, microbial and plant genomes of all sizes.

Peter D. Meldrum, President and CEO of Myriad Genetics, Inc. said, "Winning the competition for this exciting new partnership with NADII validates Myriad's leading position among the world's few
ultra high- throughput, capillary DNA sequencing facilities. This project represents the tip of the
iceberg in terms of Myriad's potential to unlock the commercial value inherent in the development of microorganism, plant and animal genomic data for pharmaceutical and agricultural product
companies.''

Pharmaceutical, agricultural and veterinary product companies are increasingly eager to determine the content of the genomes of the microorganisms, plants and animals that most directly influence the products they sell. Understanding the genes that control the key functions of major crops and crop pests is important in the development of future products. Additional genomes of value to medical and pharmaceutical developers include the model organisms and those of various fungi, viruses and bacteria.

NADII is funded by the Novartis Research Foundation, an independent research foundation which
was established and funded by Novartis. Novartis is a world leader in Life Sciences with core
businesses in Healthcare, Agribusiness and Consumer Health (Nutrition and Self-Medication). In
1998, Novartis Group sales were $21.8 billion, of which $12 billion were in Healthcare, $5.8 billion
in Agribusiness and $4 billion in Consumer Health. The group annually invests more than $2.6 billion in research and development. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis employs about 82,000 people and operates in over 140 countries around the world. The company's US headquarters are located in Summit, NJ.

Myriad Genetics, Inc. is a genomics company focused on the discovery and commercialization of
genes involved in major common diseases. The Company has established two wholly owned
subsidiaries to commercialize its research discoveries. Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc. develops and markets proprietary genetic testing services and has introduced products in the fields of predictive medicine and personalized medicine. Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing therapeutic lead compounds ready for human clinical trials, and expects to market them to pharmaceutical companies. The Company has established research collaborations with Bayer, Monsanto, Novartis, Schering AG and Schering-Plough.

Company news release
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