Product in the spotlight

First UK Installation of Next Generation Protein Structure Determination Technology

May 13, 2005.  Sareum Holdings plc (AIM: SAR), the structure-based drug discovery and services business, and Rigaku, a world leader in X-ray instrumentation, are pleased to announce the first UK installation of Rigaku's new HiFlux HomeLab™, based on the latest generation micro-focus X-ray diffractometers.

This equipment enables Sareum to significantly increase the quality and throughput of the protein structure determination capability of its unique drug discovery platform by providing full-time access to the state-of-the-art in laboratory X-ray diffraction. The Rigaku HiFlux HomeLab system provides up to six times greater useable X-ray flux than traditional X-ray machines.

Commenting on the announcement, Sareum's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Tim Mitchell, said: "We are extremely excited to have the first UK installation of this new standard in X-ray technology. This major extension of our capabilities in protein structure determination will greatly benefit both our customers and our internal research."

Commenting on the announcement, Rigaku's European Sales Manager, Richard Tyrrell, said: "Sareum's choice to install a state of the art next generation MicroMax&^®-007 HF generator and VariMax™ HF optics gives them a highly flexible and stable machine." The versatility of the VariMaxHF optics, allowing structure determination over a wide range of unit cell lengths, combined with the ultra bright microfocus source means virtually any project can be tackled with ease. This optimum combination will give Sareum the ability to collect rapid high resolution data in-house and offers many major advantages over existing rotating anode generators."

About Sareum Holdings plc

Sareum Holdings plc is a structure based drug discovery business headquartered in Cambridge, UK. The Company was formed in August 2003 to discover new drugs for the treatment of cancer and inflammation and to provide a range of drug discovery services to the pharmaceutical industry. Sareum's unique approach aims to halve the time it takes to discover new drug candidates.

Structure-based drug discovery involves the determination of a disease causing protein's three-dimensional structure. Once the structure is known, novel chemical entities are designed to 'lock-in' to the protein with the aim of reversing or arresting a disease's progression.

Sareum's approach to structure based drug discovery is to produce multiple recombinant proteins primarily through a baculovirus expression system; determine their structure using X-ray crystallography; and then use the Company's template-molecule X-ray screening technology to identify new chemical entities that interact with the target protein. Sareum then uses its high-throughput medicinal chemistry platform to rapidly synthesise further molecules and develop the most promising into potential drug candidates.

Sareum offers its accelerated drug discovery capabilities on a fee basis to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and also intends to license out any internally generated drug candidates at the Phase I or Phase II clinical trials stage.

Sareum joined the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2004 and trades under the symbol SAR. For further information, please visit www.sareum.co.uk

Rigaku—Leading With Innovation

Since its inception in Japan in 1951, Rigaku has been at the forefront of analytical and industrial instrumentation technology. Rigaku and its subsidiaries form a global group focused on life sciences and general purpose analytical instrumentation. With hundreds of major innovations to its credit, Rigaku and its subsidiary companies are world leaders in the fields of small molecule and protein crystallography, X-ray spectrometry and diffraction, X-ray optics, as well as semiconductor metrology. Rigaku employs over 1,100 people in the manufacture and support of its analytical equipment. Its products are in use in more than 70 countries—supporting research, development, and quality assurance activities. Throughout the world, Rigaku continuously promotes partnerships, dialog, and innovation within the global scientific and industrial community.

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