Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) announced today that researchers from
Boston University and Howard University will perform the first
genome-wide scan of an African American cohort searching for genes
associated with obesity, hypertension, diabetes and metabolic
syndrome using the Affymetrix GeneChip� Human Mapping 500K Array
Set. This collaborative study will be an important first step in
understanding how genetics contribute to the disease burden of
populations of African ancestry. Charles Rotimi, Ph.D., director of
the National Human Genome Center at Howard University and current
president of the African Society of Human Genetics, and Michael
Christman, Ph.D., chair of the Genetics and Genomics Department at
Boston University, will lead the study. The initial phase of the
project will take less than a year and the team is hoping to secure
additional funding to expand the study to include additional unique
African cohorts. To watch a full Affymetrix UserForum interview
with Dr. Christman on this study, please visit
http://www.affymetrix.com/userForum/news/collaborations/ChristmanVideo
.uf (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into
your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if
one exists.) Dr. Rotimi�s team has conducted a number of
family-based cohort studies on African populations. His areas of
focus have been diabetes, obesity, hypertension and translational
research. �African Americans tend to have a higher frequency of
obesity, diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome than
European Americans,� said Dr. Rotimi. �Through this first study, we
hope to determine the genes associated with these complex diseases
and discover how they may interact with different environmental
factors, so we can develop more effective treatments for all
Americans and people around the world.� �The initial phase of the
International HapMap Project has been a valuable resource for
genetic studies and tells us that a very high SNP density is needed
in studies of chromosomes of African ancestry,� said Dr. Christman.
�The Affymetrix 500K Array includes many of the common SNPs that
extend beyond the HapMap Project, enabling us to truly examine the
genes associated with complex diseases affecting African Americans.
We are very excited about working closely with Dr. Rotimi and his
group at Howard on this project.� Dr. Christman recently led a team
of international scientists that discovered the first common
genetic variant predisposing to obesity. The study, entitled �A
Common Genetic Variant is Associated with Obesity,� appeared in the
April 14, 2006, issue of�the journal Science. The group also
performed the first dense genome scan of the Framingham Heart Study
cohort, which consists primarily of European Americans. �We plan on
expanding the Affymetrix control database to include populations
from around the world to better support more focused projects like
this African American cohort study,� said Sean George, Ph.D., vice
president, Academic Business Unit at Affymetrix. �Dr. Christman�s
team brings a strong understanding of obesity and other disorders
to the project, and Dr. Rotimi�s team has considerable expertise in
the genetic epidemiology of complex diseases in African Americans
and other populations of the African Diaspora. This combination of
researchers and Affymetrix 500K technology will help provide
answers that had not been possible before.� The resulting data from
the first genome-wide scan of an African American cohort will be
included within the Affymetrix Control Program. The program
provides free, public access to control cohort data for
whole-genome association studies using Affymetrix GeneChip
genotyping arrays. Affymetrix is collaborating with leading
researchers around the world as part of this program. For more
information on the Affymetrix Control Program, please visit
http://www.affymetrix.com/userForum/news/collaborations/schreiber.uf.
Researchers from Boston University's Genetics and Genomics
Department recently announced the release of a public Web site that
contains pre-publication results from a 116,000 SNP/individual
genome-wide association study of the Framingham Heart Study Cohort.
GMED (Genomic Medicine Database) was established to help
researchers rapidly disseminate links between specific human
genetic variants and traits such as obesity, hypertension, blood
glucose and cholesterol levels so that the findings can be compared
with results obtained by other scientists and clinicians performing
genome-wide association studies. For more information, please visit
http://gmed.bu.edu. About Howard University�s National Human Genome
Center (NHGC) Founded in 2001, the NHGC is a comprehensive resource
for genomic research on African Americans and other African
Diaspora populations. The NHGC�s mission is to explore the science
and teach about DNA sequence variation and its interaction with the
environment in the causality, prevention, and treatment of diseases
common in African American and other African Diaspora populations.
Howard University is one of 48 U.S. private,
Doctoral/Research-Extensive universities and comprises 12 schools
and colleges. Founded in 1867, students pursue studies in more than
120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional
degrees. Since 1998, the University has produced two Rhodes
Scholars, a Truman Scholar, 13 Fulbright Scholars and nine
Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus
African-American Ph.D.s than any other university in the world. For
more information on Howard University, call 202-238-2330, or visit
the University�s website at www.howard.edu. About Boston University
School of Medicine�s (BUSM) Department of Genetics and Genomics
Founded in 2002, the Genetics and Genomics Department at BUSM
consists of faculty and researchers with the combination of diverse
expertise such as human genetics, molecular biology, mathematics,
statistics and information technology needed to perform studies of
the human genome and disease. BUSM is a major research institution,
ranking 12th among US medical schools for sponsored research. There
are over 600 funded research programs and more than 1,000 active
clinical trials, providing an exceptional environment for students
interested in basic science, clinical investigation, or public
health and health services oriented research. About Affymetrix
Affymetrix scientists invented the world's first high-density
microarray in 1989 and began selling the first commercial
microarray in 1994. Since then, Affymetrix GeneChip� technology has
become the industry standard in molecular biology research.
Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical,
diagnostic and biotechnology companies as well as leading academic,
government and not-for-profit research institutes. More than 1,400
systems have been installed around the world and more than 7,000
peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology.
Affymetrix' patented photolithographic manufacturing process
provides the most information capacity available today on an array,
enabling researchers to use a whole-genome approach to analyzing
the relationship between genetics and health. Affymetrix is
headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with manufacturing facilities
in Sacramento, Calif., and Bedford, Mass. The company maintains
important sales and marketing operations in Europe and Asia, and
has about 1,100 employees worldwide. For more information about
Affymetrix, please visit the company's website at
www.affymetrix.com. All statements in this press release that are
not historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including
statements regarding Affymetrix' "expectations," "beliefs,"
"hopes," "intentions," "strategies," or the like. Such statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected,
including, but not limited to: risks and uncertainties associated
with the agreement with Boston University and Howard University
discussed in this press release; risks of the Company's ability to
achieve and sustain higher levels of revenue, higher gross margins,
reduced operating expenses; uncertainties relating to technological
approaches, manufacturing, product development; personnel
retention; uncertainties related to cost and pricing of Affymetrix
products; dependence on collaborative partners; uncertainties
relating to sole source suppliers; uncertainties relating to FDA
and other regulatory approvals; competition; risks relating to
intellectual property of others and the uncertainties of patent
protection and litigation. These and other risk factors are
discussed in Affymetrix' Form 10-K/A for the year ended December
31, 2005, and other SEC reports, including its Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q for subsequent quarterly periods. Affymetrix expressly
disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained
herein to reflect any change in Affymetrix' expectations with
regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances
on which any such statements are based. NOTE: Affymetrix, the
Affymetrix logo and GeneChip are registered trademarks owned or
used by Affymetrix Inc. Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) announced
today that researchers from Boston University and Howard University
will perform the first genome-wide scan of an African American
cohort searching for genes associated with obesity, hypertension,
diabetes and metabolic syndrome using the Affymetrix GeneChip(R)
Human Mapping 500K Array Set. This collaborative study will be an
important first step in understanding how genetics contribute to
the disease burden of populations of African ancestry. Charles
Rotimi, Ph.D., director of the National Human Genome Center at
Howard University and current president of the African Society of
Human Genetics, and Michael Christman, Ph.D., chair of the Genetics
and Genomics Department at Boston University, will lead the study.
The initial phase of the project will take less than a year and the
team is hoping to secure additional funding to expand the study to
include additional unique African cohorts. To watch a full
Affymetrix UserForum interview with Dr. Christman on this study,
please visit
http://www.affymetrix.com/userForum/news/collaborations/ChristmanVideo
.uf (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into
your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if
one exists.) Dr. Rotimi's team has conducted a number of
family-based cohort studies on African populations. His areas of
focus have been diabetes, obesity, hypertension and translational
research. "African Americans tend to have a higher frequency of
obesity, diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome than
European Americans," said Dr. Rotimi. "Through this first study, we
hope to determine the genes associated with these complex diseases
and discover how they may interact with different environmental
factors, so we can develop more effective treatments for all
Americans and people around the world." "The initial phase of the
International HapMap Project has been a valuable resource for
genetic studies and tells us that a very high SNP density is needed
in studies of chromosomes of African ancestry," said Dr. Christman.
"The Affymetrix 500K Array includes many of the common SNPs that
extend beyond the HapMap Project, enabling us to truly examine the
genes associated with complex diseases affecting African Americans.
We are very excited about working closely with Dr. Rotimi and his
group at Howard on this project." Dr. Christman recently led a team
of international scientists that discovered the first common
genetic variant predisposing to obesity. The study, entitled "A
Common Genetic Variant is Associated with Obesity," appeared in the
April 14, 2006, issue of the journal Science. The group also
performed the first dense genome scan of the Framingham Heart Study
cohort, which consists primarily of European Americans. "We plan on
expanding the Affymetrix control database to include populations
from around the world to better support more focused projects like
this African American cohort study," said Sean George, Ph.D., vice
president, Academic Business Unit at Affymetrix. "Dr. Christman's
team brings a strong understanding of obesity and other disorders
to the project, and Dr. Rotimi's team has considerable expertise in
the genetic epidemiology of complex diseases in African Americans
and other populations of the African Diaspora. This combination of
researchers and Affymetrix 500K technology will help provide
answers that had not been possible before." The resulting data from
the first genome-wide scan of an African American cohort will be
included within the Affymetrix Control Program. The program
provides free, public access to control cohort data for
whole-genome association studies using Affymetrix GeneChip
genotyping arrays. Affymetrix is collaborating with leading
researchers around the world as part of this program. For more
information on the Affymetrix Control Program, please visit
http://www.affymetrix.com/userForum/news/collaborations/schreiber.uf.
Researchers from Boston University's Genetics and Genomics
Department recently announced the release of a public Web site that
contains pre-publication results from a 116,000 SNP/individual
genome-wide association study of the Framingham Heart Study Cohort.
GMED (Genomic Medicine Database) was established to help
researchers rapidly disseminate links between specific human
genetic variants and traits such as obesity, hypertension, blood
glucose and cholesterol levels so that the findings can be compared
with results obtained by other scientists and clinicians performing
genome-wide association studies. For more information, please visit
http://gmed.bu.edu. About Howard University's National Human Genome
Center (NHGC) Founded in 2001, the NHGC is a comprehensive resource
for genomic research on African Americans and other African
Diaspora populations. The NHGC's mission is to explore the science
and teach about DNA sequence variation and its interaction with the
environment in the causality, prevention, and treatment of diseases
common in African American and other African Diaspora populations.
Howard University is one of 48 U.S. private,
Doctoral/Research-Extensive universities and comprises 12 schools
and colleges. Founded in 1867, students pursue studies in more than
120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional
degrees. Since 1998, the University has produced two Rhodes
Scholars, a Truman Scholar, 13 Fulbright Scholars and nine
Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus
African-American Ph.D.s than any other university in the world. For
more information on Howard University, call 202-238-2330, or visit
the University's website at www.howard.edu. About Boston University
School of Medicine's (BUSM) Department of Genetics and Genomics
Founded in 2002, the Genetics and Genomics Department at BUSM
consists of faculty and researchers with the combination of diverse
expertise such as human genetics, molecular biology, mathematics,
statistics and information technology needed to perform studies of
the human genome and disease. BUSM is a major research institution,
ranking 12th among US medical schools for sponsored research. There
are over 600 funded research programs and more than 1,000 active
clinical trials, providing an exceptional environment for students
interested in basic science, clinical investigation, or public
health and health services oriented research. About Affymetrix
Affymetrix scientists invented the world's first high-density
microarray in 1989 and began selling the first commercial
microarray in 1994. Since then, Affymetrix GeneChip(R) technology
has become the industry standard in molecular biology research.
Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical,
diagnostic and biotechnology companies as well as leading academic,
government and not-for-profit research institutes. More than 1,400
systems have been installed around the world and more than 7,000
peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology.
Affymetrix' patented photolithographic manufacturing process
provides the most information capacity available today on an array,
enabling researchers to use a whole-genome approach to analyzing
the relationship between genetics and health. Affymetrix is
headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with manufacturing facilities
in Sacramento, Calif., and Bedford, Mass. The company maintains
important sales and marketing operations in Europe and Asia, and
has about 1,100 employees worldwide. For more information about
Affymetrix, please visit the company's website at
www.affymetrix.com. All statements in this press release that are
not historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including
statements regarding Affymetrix' "expectations," "beliefs,"
"hopes," "intentions," "strategies," or the like. Such statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected,
including, but not limited to: risks and uncertainties associated
with the agreement with Boston University and Howard University
discussed in this press release; risks of the Company's ability to
achieve and sustain higher levels of revenue, higher gross margins,
reduced operating expenses; uncertainties relating to technological
approaches, manufacturing, product development; personnel
retention; uncertainties related to cost and pricing of Affymetrix
products; dependence on collaborative partners; uncertainties
relating to sole source suppliers; uncertainties relating to FDA
and other regulatory approvals; competition; risks relating to
intellectual property of others and the uncertainties of patent
protection and litigation. These and other risk factors are
discussed in Affymetrix' Form 10-K/A for the year ended December
31, 2005, and other SEC reports, including its Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q for subsequent quarterly periods. Affymetrix expressly
disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained
herein to reflect any change in Affymetrix' expectations with
regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances
on which any such statements are based. NOTE: Affymetrix, the
Affymetrix logo and GeneChip are registered trademarks owned or
used by Affymetrix Inc.
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