Inproteo Announces Milestones, New Focus on Spin-outs.
Prosolia, Tienta add to entrepreneurial life sciences activity in Indiana.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., June 1, 2006 - One of Indiana's life sciences business and university collaborations, Inproteo, LLC, announced today that it has achieved significant milestones in its short history and is shifting its business direction to focus on two specific spin-out companies, Prosolia and Tienta Sciences.

Inproteo began in February 2002, at the same time as formation of the effort now known as BioCrossroads. Its mission was to bring together Indiana's significant research strengths in analytical chemistry and related fields to advance life science discovery and create additional job growth and opportunities for Indiana. A collaboration among Eli Lilly and Company, Indiana University and Purdue University, Inproteo has made strategic research investments at both universities to advance discoveries in medicine and human health. By linking research strengths and innovative business models, Inproteo has also epitomized the mission of BioCrossroads, which was established to form new companies through industry and academic collaborations in areas of strength in Indiana.

Eli Lilly, IU and Purdue contributed $12 million in seed funding to establish Inproteo, which has since generated an additional $3.4 million in licensing revenues and formed the two spin-out companies to commercialize intellectual property originally developed at the founding institutions. Inproteo will continue to manage this intellectual property and the two spin-outs.

Inproteo has four issued patents with four additional patents pending. Its two spin-out companies have received an additional $4 million in grant funds, including grants from the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, and are generating revenue from product sales. Inproteo's advancements have resulted in more than 30 scientific publications and produced recognition for Inproteo's partners in the scientific community.

"After evaluating the achievements of Inproteo and the two spin-out companies, we determined that our resources are now best focused on these two companies," said Pete Kissinger, President and CEO of Inproteo. "Prosolia and Tienta represent the success of the BioCrossroads initiative, and that is to build new businesses based on existing life sciences strengths. We will look to leverage the past successes into future opportunities."

Prosolia's mission is to develop and market revolutionary analytical and preparative chemistry tools that will enhance and expand the use of mass spectrometers, instruments used to gather chemical information from samples. The company's desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) technology, invented by Dr. R. Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry in Purdue's College of Science and Inproteo Principal Investigator, has revolutionized the way molecules are detected and analyzed. Prosolia is located at the IU Emerging Technologies Center, a business incubator in downtown Indianapolis.

Tienta Sciences, founded in 2003, develops proprietary biomolecular sensing systems to address unmet needs in the life science and clinical diagnostic industries. The company is commercializing technology developed at Purdue University that sets new standards of accuracy and precision for the measurement of biomolecules and enables standardization of measurements across multiple technology platforms. Tienta's products have applications in forensics, life science research, drug discovery and clinical diagnostics. The company has offices at the IU Emerging Technologies Center and in West Lafayette, Ind. Tienta has four products on the market, with five additional products currently in development.

"Inproteo has been crucial in the development of other life sciences businesses, including our own spin-out, INCAPS," said David Johnson, President and CEO of BioCrossroads. "Drawing on the strengths of assets like Tienta, Prosolia, Lilly, IU, Purdue and INCAPS, and the talent found at these organizations, we are certain that the legacy of Indiana as a leader in protein analysis research and development will continue."

Contact: Peter T. Kissinger
765.463.4527
pete@bioanalytical.com