SAN RAMON, Calif., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- BioGenex today filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that Ventana Medical Systems (NASDAQ:VMSI) is infringing BioGenex's United States Patent No. 6,632,598. The complaint seeks monetary damages as well as injunctive relief. The '598 Patent was the subject of a motion for leave to amend BioGenex's Complaint in the currently pending patent infringement action against Ventana. On February 24, 2005 the court denied BioGenex's motion for leave to amend, noting that BioGenex retained the right to file a separate action.

The '452 Patent was also the subject of the court's February 24, 2005 ruling in which for procedural reasons the Court found certain of the '452 Patent's claims invalid for purposes of the pending action only. The Court did not rule that all claims of the '452 Patent were invalid and the Court's ruling does not prevent BioGenex from further enforcing the '452 Patent against Ventana or others. The Court also ruled for procedural reasons that certain claims of BioGenex's United States Patent No. 6,451,551 were not infringed. BioGenex disagrees with the procedural rulings of the Court and intends to aggressively pursue its rights and remedies.

The court's February 24, 2005 ruling did not involve BioGenex's pending allegations that Ventana Medical Systems is infringing BioGenex's United States Patent No. 5,244,787. In addition, there is a separate pending motion for an order to show cause as to why Ventana should not be found in contempt for violating a prior court order precluding further infringement of the '787 Patent. These matters are still pending and awaiting court rulings.

About BioGenex Laboratories, Inc.

BioGenex, a technology leader in molecular pathology provides systems for complete automation of cell and tissue testing. BioGenex offers a broad range of reagents, detection kits, antibodies, probes, special stains, tissue microarrays, automated staining and imaging systems to streamline and standardize cellular and molecular diagnostics. The automated systems are designed for high throughput at a low cost of ownership, providing ease of use and maximum flexibility for clinical diagnostics, life science research, and drug discovery.

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