CARLSBAD, Calif.– Life Technologies Corporation – (NASDAQ: LIFE) today announced that it has signed an agreement with COPAN Flock Technologies, a leading manufacturer of sample collection and DNA preservation tools, for the global distribution of a complete product line of innovative swab and paper sample collection systems. The partnership enables Life Technologies, the world’s leading provider of human identification systems, to offer an integrated, end-to-end solution designed to improve results and efficiency for forensic DNA laboratories worldwide.

Law enforcement agencies and human identification laboratories are coping with an increasing volume of DNA database, crime scene casework and paternity samples. This increases the need for efficient sample collection devices that can maintain chain of custody and facilitate automation, while enabling high-quality PCR amplification for genotyping.

The Life Technologies-COPAN partnership helps address this need through innovative solutions like the new NUCLEIC-CARD™ DNA Collection System, a chemically-treated sample collection matrix that lyses cells and preserves DNA spotted onto the paper substrate. The NUCLEIC-CARD™ system enables efficient collection, preservation and long-term room temperature storage of DNA from blood and buccal reference samples, while also facilitating a rapid direct PCR amplification workflow using Life Technologies STR kits. In addition, the patented flock technology of COPAN FLOQSwabs™ has been shown to significantly enhance the recovery and release of DNA for downstream analysis, which is especially important for more challenging crime scene samples.

“Laboratories processing DNA samples for human identification will now benefit from COPAN’s unique approach to designing functional and novel sample collection tools,” said Daniele Triva, President of COPAN Flock Technologies. “COPAN’s expertise in the area of sample collection, combined with Life Technologies’ strong reputation in human identification, will provide the most advanced solutions to meet the diverse customers’ needs.”

By adding COPAN’s sample collection products to its human identification portfolio, Life Technologies now offers forensic and paternity customers an end-to-end integrated solution across the entire workflow for efficient and reliable sample processing.

“As the global market leader in DNA testing solutions, Life Technologies has entered this agreement with COPAN to further improve human identification laboratories’ ability to do more with less by continually streamlining the workflow process,” said John Gerace, Head of Applied Sciences for Life Technologies. “By enabling our customers to collect DNA samples directly onto the paper or swab, which has been designed to optimally release a maximum amount of DNA, they will see an improvement in overall efficiency and success.”

Distribution of certain products will be limited by geography.

About COPAN Flock Technologies

With a reputation for innovation in pre-analytics, COPAN is a worldwide leading manufacturer of collection and preservation systems for microbiological investigation of infectious diseases and biological samples for forensic applications. COPAN is a fully integrated company with expertise in In-house molding, Robotics, Engineering Automation, Information Technology and R&D Laboratories. With over 30 years of experience COPANs’ unique Science Park incubates various companies that work together to improve the diagnostic process. For more information, visit www.copanflock.com

About Life Technologies

Life Technologies Corporation is a global biotechnology company with customers in more than 160 countries using its innovative solutions to solve some of today’s most difficult scientific challenges. Quality and innovation are accessible to every lab with its reliable and easy-to-use solutions spanning the biological spectrum with more than 50,000 products for translational research, molecular medicine and diagnostics, stem cell-based therapies, forensics, food safety and animal health. Its systems, reagents and consumables, represent some of the most cited brands in scientific research including: Ion Torrent™, Applied Biosystems®, Invitrogen™, GIBCO®, Ambion®, Molecular Probes®, Novex®, and TaqMan®. Life Technologies employs approximately 10,400 people and upholds its ongoing commitment to innovation with more than 4,000 patents and exclusive licenses. LIFE had sales of $3.7 billion in 2011. Visit us at our website: https://www.lifetechnologies.com