5 May 2004

LGC and ChemOvation announce collaboration agreement

LGC, Europe’s leading independent analytical laboratory providing advanced chemical, biochemical and forensic analysis, and ChemOvation, a leading provider of chemistry to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector, have announced a collaboration agreement that will enable both parties to build on their comprehensive range of offerings to drug discovery companies. Based in Horsham, West Sussex, ChemOvation’s core business areas are medicinal and organic chemistry and it also offers a unique library of synthetic compounds, backed up with a proven track record in drug discovery and a highly flexible and tailored approach to service provision. LGC’s expertise in biomeasurement and its extensive capabilities in cell-based testing - particularly ADME-Tox testing - create a natural link with ChemOvation’s offering in the drug discovery market.

Dr Derek Craston, Head of LGC’s Pharmaceutical Services, said: “ChemOvation‘s impressive and high quality capability in medicinal chemistry makes an excellent fit with LGC’s offering and while both LGC and ChemOvation have organic chemistry capabilities, these complement each other well rather than overlap. This collaboration is the latest in a number of alliances that LGC has formed as part of its business strategy for the Pharmaceutical Services Division. Through a combination of these alliances and our skills, LGC can offer a range of competences as part of a package of services that best meets each customer’s needs.”

Ian Matthews, ChemOvation’s Chief Scientific Officer, commented: “ChemOvation offers accessibility to drug discovery knowledge. Our expertise lies in providing tailored medicinal chemistry solutions allowing our customers to benefit from our comprehensive understanding of the drug discovery process. We are able to take compound ‘hits’ and biological protein targets and decide quickly whether or not to progress into an integrated drug discovery programme. Like LGC, ChemOvation believes that establishing alliances such as this latest collaboration with LGC is the way forward.”

ChemOvation will be exhibiting at BioFine 2004 (www.biofine.uk.com) in Berlin, Germany on 5-6 May 2004. Visit ChemOvation on stand B13.

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Notes to editors:

Photographs are available on request.

About LGC

LGC (www.lgc.co.uk) is Europe's leading independent analytical laboratory providing advanced chemical, biochemical and forensic analysis, diagnostic services, DNA testing and genetic screening, research, method development, consultancy, training and analytical outsourcing. LGC operates in a diverse range of markets, in both the public and private sectors, including foods, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, environment and chemicals and is the national measurement laboratory for chemical and biochemical analysis. LGC's services are designed to help organisations produce high quality data on which to base scientific and commercial decisions. Reference materials supplied by our market-leading distribution business, LGC Promochem, underpin the quality of measurement in many industrial sectors including pharmaceuticals. LGC Promochem distributes reference standards and ATCC biomaterials throughout Europe and in India. Growing at over 15% per year and 30% owned by 3i for the past seven years, LGC is based in Teddington, Middlesex, with additional laboratory facilities in Runcorn, Cheshire, in Edinburgh, Scotland and in Luckenwalde, Germany. Further offices are located in the UK, as well as in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden and India.

For further information, please contact:

For further information, please contact:

Dr Hashim Javaid
Business Development Manager
ChemOvation Ltd
Foundry Lane
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 5PX
UK
Tel: +44 (0)1403 248844
Fax: +44 (0)1403 248855
Email: info@chemovation.com