Veridex Announces Agreement to Acquire the Assets of Immunicon Corporation

    RARITAN, N.J., June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Veridex, LLC announced
 today that it has signed an asset purchase agreement to acquire
 substantially all of the assets of Immunicon Corporation (OTC Bulletin
 Board: IMMC) for $31 million in cash subject to certain closing date
 adjustments, plus the discharge and release of certain claims owing to
 Veridex, LLC and the assumption of certain specified liabilities.
 
     The assets to be acquired include intellectual property, product
 inventory and clinical data as well as all technologies related to the
 CellSearch(TM) System, the first diagnostic test to automate the detection
 and enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cancer cells that detach
 from solid tumors and enter the blood stream. The CellSearch(TM) System is
 currently cleared for the prognosis and monitoring of patients with
 metastatic breast, metastatic colorectal and metastatic prostate cancer.
 
     "This agreement represents a strategic opportunity for Veridex to
 continue to bring innovative diagnostic tests to the patients, physicians
 and laboratories involved in the fight against cancer," said Ken Berlin,
 General Manager, Veridex, LLC.
 
     Veridex and Immunicon have partnered since 2000 to develop and
 commercialize novel cancer diagnostic platforms and products.
 
     The transaction is subject to the approval by the bankruptcy court
 overseeing Immunicon's bankruptcy case. It is not expected to require
 anti-trust review or shareholder approval.
 
     About Veridex
 
     Veridex, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company, is an organization dedicated
 to providing physicians with high-value in vitro diagnostic oncology
 products. Veridex is focused on developing products that will significantly
 benefit patients through earlier disease detection, and enable personalized
 medicine strategies to improve patient management and outcomes. The company
 develops cancer diagnostic products that may enable earlier disease
 detection as well as more accurate monitoring and therapeutic selection.
 The company is currently marketing two product lines: CellSearch(TM) assays
 that enumerate circulating tumor cells in blood and GeneSearch(TM) assays
 using molecular technology. For additional information, please visit
 www.veridex.com
 
     (This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in
 the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
 based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions
 prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual
 results could vary materially from Veridex's expectations and projections.
 Risks and uncertainties include the satisfaction of closing conditions for
 the acquisition, including receipt of approval for the transaction by the
 bankruptcy court overseeing Immunicon's bankruptcy case, and the
 possibility that the transaction will not be completed; general industry
 conditions and competition; economic conditions, such as interest rate and
 currency exchange rate fluctuations; technological advances and patents
 attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development,
 including obtaining regulatory approvals; domestic and foreign health care
 reforms and governmental laws and regulations; and trends toward health
 care cost containment. A further list and description of these risks,
 uncertainties and other factors can be found in Exhibit 99 of Johnson &
 Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30,
 2007. Copies of this Form 10-K, as well as subsequent filings, are
 available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson &
 Johnson. Veridex does not undertake to update any forward-looking
 statements as a result of new information or future events or
 developments.)
 
 
 

SOURCE Veridex, LLC