FOSTER CITY, CA, U.S.A., and TORONTO, CANADA –Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, together with its joint venture partner MDS Sciex, a division of MDS Inc. (NYSE:MDZ, TSX:MDS), today announced the launch of Tempo™ Liquid Chromatography (LC) systems, providing integrated front-end solutions for researchers performing LC/MS and LC MALDI-based experiments.

High Pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), a separation step that purifies and resolves compounds in complex matrices, is a staple in life sciences research laboratories, and is often performed prior to mass spectrometry analysis. With the introduction of Tempo™ LC systems, Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX will offer complete application-based solutions for proteomics, biomarker, and drug discovery studies. These end-to-end systems will provide single-vendor LC/MS solutions that include sales, installation, service, and support.

The new product line includes:

• Tempo™ nano LC system for 1-dimensional nano HPLC,

• Tempo™ nano MDLC for multi-dimensional HPLC,

• Tempo™ ht LC system for high throughput micro-flow applications, and

• Tempo™ LC MALDI Spotting System for MALDI MS.

“Our mass spectrometry customers want reliable, easy-to-use, high performance liquid chromatography systems that integrate seamlessly with their instruments,” said Laura Lauman, Division President, Proteomics and Small Molecule Division of Applied Biosystems. “With Tempo™ LC systems, powered by Eksigent Technologies, Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX is expected to offer and support complete LC/MS systems that make it easy for experts and novices to achieve sensitive, high resolution, and high speed separations for LC/MS applications with significantly reduced solvent consumption.”

“These LC systems are a perfect complement to our industry-leading mass spectrometry platforms, and allow us to offer our customers a total system solution,” added Andy Boorn, President of MDS Sciex.

The Tempo™ systems have ultra-low dead volumes, fewer moving parts than conventional LC systems, and a unique direct pumping mechanism with flow rate feedback for each mobile phase. The result of this technology is optimum chromatographic performance with fast cycle times, better peak shapes, more reproducible gradients and retention times, as well as reduced solvent consumption.

The Tempo™ LC MALDI Spotting system combines all the advantages of the Tempo™ LC system technology with an innovative electrostatic spotting stage for significantly higher speed, resolution, performance, and sample capacity in LC/MS. The system fully enables high performance LC-MALDI workflows in proteomics and metabolism studies with the 4700 and 4800 MALDI TOF/TOF™ Analyzer and the QSTAR® analyzer with oMALDI™ Source. It can also be used with other instruments possessing adapters for Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX Opti-TOF™ plates.

The Tempo™ LC MALDI system is expected to be available for shipment in February 2006.