Signed in 2005, our strategic alliance with Quest Diagnostics is the cornerstone of Vermillion’s commercialization strategy in the United States. The partnership is focused on the development and commercialization of three diagnostic tests chosen from our pipeline. To date, Quest has chosen two of our tests for development: the ovarian tumor triage (OTT) test and the peripheral artery disease (PAD) test.

Quest Diagnostics is the nation’s leading provider of innovative diagnostic tests, information and services. Its reputation and insistence on quality science make Quest the largest provider in the clinical reference laboratory industry.

A pivotal event in Vermillion’s transition to a specialty diagnostics company occurred in November 2006, when Bio-Rad Laboratories acquired our proteomics instrument business. Under the terms of the agreement, Bio-Rad manufactures, sells and markets the SELDI technology to the life sciences marketplace for proteomics applications, such as biomarker discovery, characterization and validation. Vermillion retains exclusive rights to the diagnostics market. In addition, we have a supply agreement with Bio-Rad to purchase SELDI instruments and consumables for the continued development of our diagnostics business. The companies are also collaborating to identify SELDI customers interested in partnering with Vermillion to commercialize biomarker discoveries.

Bio-Rad Laboratories is the source for ProteinChip surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) technology products and service for the Life Science market and Vermillion is the source for these products for the molecular diagnostics markets. For all product and support inquires, go to www.bio-rad.com/proteinchip/