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AGNM News Molecular Vision and Acrongenomics' BioLED Platform One Step Closer to Completion

GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acrongenomics, Inc. (OTCBB:AGNM) and Molecular Vision, Ltd. -- an Imperial Innovations spin-out company -- today present a third R&D update of their joint collaboration, following the meeting that took place on the 27th of November 2006 at the headquarters of Acrongenomics' in Geneva.

The two partners plan for a demonstrator of the BioLED cartridge to be presented at the BioIncubator Building of Imperial College London within the first quarter of 2007.

"We believe Acrongemomics’ specific expertise in finance and business development, combined with our own expertise in Organic polymer Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) and microfluidics, provide the resources and critical mass to accelerate the development of the BioLED platform anticipating to offer new low-cost, easy-to-use and readily portable Point-Of-Care (POC) devices for medical testing that will greatly extend the tools available to the medical community," said Dr. Chris Wright, CEO at Molecular Vision Ltd.

“We are committed to support innovative research in POCT (Point of Care Testing),” said Mr. Plato Tzouvalis, President and COO of Acrongenomics Inc. “We are excited to advance the POC industry’s breadth of knowledge in effectively developing such a unique class of POC devices.”

The development steps of the BioLED platform include the design and fabrication of stand-alone product models based around fluorescence and/or chemiluminescence detection. The products will comprise of a microfluidic substrate, an organic photodetector, a printed circuit board, a display and a battery.

In addition, Professor Donal Bradley, Professor Andrew de Mello and Dr. John de Mello were among the receivers of Imperial College's inaugural annual Research Excellence Awards for excellence in organic semiconductors research. The awards, of approximately £150k, are designed to reward some of the College's most outstanding research teams that have demonstrated high academic achievement and have significant future potential.

Furthermore, Dr. Oliver Hofmann, a principal research scientist at Molecular Vision presented our technology's latest results at the MicroTAS 2006 conference that took place last month in Tokyo. Two posters entitled "Monolithically integrated dye-doped PDMS optical filters for disposable on-chip fluorescence detection" and “High-sensitivity low-cost on-chip chemiluminescence detection based on integrated organic photodiodes” reported on the fabrication of novel dye-doped PDMS microfluidic layers which concurrently serve as optical short-pass and long-pass filters for on-chip fluorescence detection. Details on the use of novel low-cost disposable organic photodiodes for high-sensitivity detection of on-chip chemiluminescence assays and for the applicability of our disposable detection systems to point-of-care diagnostic testing were also presented.

BioLED technology was also presented by Dr. Hofmann at the MRS (Materials Research Society) Fall Meeting 2006 that took place this month in Boston in a talk entitled "Disposable On-Chip Chemiluminescence Detection Based On Integrated Low-Cost High-Sensitivity Plastic Organic Photodiodes". He reported on;

• Successful pLED based detection of microalbuminuria
• Integration of long-pass filters for “head-on” fluorescence detection
• Development of state-of-the-art organic photodetectors with sensitivities comparable to Si photodiodes and photomultiplier tubes.
• Successful demonstration of chemiluminescence based diagnostic assays
• Current development of fluorescence and chemiluminescence based prototypes in collaboration with Pearson Matthews, a specialist design development company with 20 years experience specifically in the healthcare sector for companies in the UK, US and Europe.

About Molecular Vision Ltd

Molecular Vision is a spin-out company of Imperial Innovations Ltd. The company was founded by three Imperial College London researchers -- Prof. Donal Bradley, Prof. Andrew de Mello and Dr. John de Mello -- in 2002 in order to meet a clearly defined demand in the medical diagnostics, biosensors and analytical instrumentations markets: the need for miniaturized chemical and biological detectors offering high sensitivity and functionality at low cost. The company has directly addressed this market demand by inventing a novel method for optical detection based on recent advances in organic electronics and light emitting diodes combined with microfluidics technology. The company has mainly focused on applying its technology to the medical diagnostics markets. Molecular Vision recently signed a GBP 3.45 million (US $6.5 million) development contract with Acrongenomics Inc. to jointly exploit and commercialise the technology.

About Imperial College London

Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for excellence in teaching and research attracts students (11,000) and staff (6,000) of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that enhance the quality of life and the environment -- underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

About the Research Excellence Award Scheme

The Research Excellence Award scheme is designed to reward research teams that have demonstrated high academic achievement and have significant future potential. Each award will be up to £150K and, unlike a research project grant, is intended for "blue-skies" research. Up to four awards will be made annually.

About Acrongenomics Inc.

Acrongenomics Inc. is a publicly traded company that focuses on investing in and commercializing novel technology platforms concerning the Life Sciences sector. Acrongenomics brings novel and realistic concepts to market by transforming scientific innovations into tangible, consumer-orientated applications. The company has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

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