The GENEART AG Presents its Work at the Most Important International Conference on Synthetic Biology in Hong Kong

- GENEART presents the advantages of designed genes and gene
synthesis in the programming of vaccines
- GENEART will chair an "Industrial Biotechnology" workshop
- 'Synthetic Biology 4.0' is the most important international
conference on Synthetic Biology, now in its fourth year
- GENEART is one of the main sponsors
- With DNA synthesis, GENEART provides one of the key technologies
for the Synthetic Biology

Regensburg, October 01, 2008 - GENEART AG, the global leader in gene
synthesis and specialist in the field of Synthetic Biology will
present its work on the "Synthetic Biology 4.0", the largest
international conference on Synthetic Biology from October 10 to 12,
2008, in Hong Kong. Using the development of an HIV vaccine as an
example, GENEART will elucidate the advantages of designed genes and
gene synthesis for the programming of vaccines to the gathered
international experts. Additionally, GENEART will moderate the
workshop "Industrial Biotechnology". As a main sponsor, GENEART
supports the conference which is now in its fourth year. 500 to 700
scientists are expected to come to the conference at the 'University
of Science and Technology' in Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, to discuss
the newest developments and insights in the field of Synthetic
Biology. Projects to efficiently produce bio-fuels and drugs are of
special economic interest.

Similarly to concepts in electrical engineering, the objective in the
Synthetic Biology is the development of standardized DNA building
blocks, which can be easily combined and which allow the
reconstruction of cells, e.g. bacteria into bioreactors. Scientists
in the Synthetic Biology thereby aim at the development of
bioreactors capable of producing far more complex compounds than
currently possible using the conventional methods of classical
biotechnology. One way to achieve this is spearheaded by J. Craig
Venter' initiative, who envisions to develop bacteria with minimal
genomes. In the beginning of this year, the American
scientist/entrepreneur has approached this aim with giant steps:
Supported by GENEART, he created the first synthetic bacterial
genome. Bacteria with minimal genomes could be used as blank cells
and thus be equipped with the required additional genes (functional
gene clusters) in order to turn them into producer cells. They could
e.g. produce bio-fuel from otherwise unused plant components. Right
now, British Petroleum and the US Department of Energy invest more
than 500M US Dollars in this field. Other projects involve the
developments of yeast and bacteria for the production of
therapeutics, such as the malaria drug Artemisinin. There are also
projects aiming at the production of chemical precursors or polymers,
e.g. for the production of spider silk.

GENEART synthesizes the DNA building blocks for the Synthetic
Biology, thus providing an important key technology for this new
field of research and industry. At the same time, GENEART works
together with partners on continuative technologies like the
construction of functional gene clusters called operons. This also
facilitates and accelerates the development of producer cells. As the
global leader in DNA synthesis, GENEART expects to profit above
average in the emerging market of this new field of research and
industry.

Find more information here: http://sb4.biobricks.org or
http://syntheticbiology.org/

For further inquiries, please contact:

Bernd Merkl
GENEART AG
Josef-Engert-Str. 11
93053 Regensburg
Germany
Phone: +49-(0)941-942 76-638
Fax: +49-(0)941-942 76-711
ir@geneart.com
www.geneart.com

Frank Ostermair
Better Orange IR & HV AG
Haidelweg 48
81241 Munich
Germany
Phone: +49-(0)89-8896906-10
Fax: +49-(0)89-8896906-66
info@better-orange.de
www.better-orange.de

Legal Information
This document may contain estimates, prognoses and opinions about
company plans and objectives, products or services, future results,
opinions about these results or opinions leading up to these results.
All these projections into the future are subject to risk,
uncertainty and unforeseeable change outside the control of the
GENEART Group. Many factors may lead to actual results, which
considerably deviate from the given projections for these results.

About GENEART AG:
In 2000, GENEART entered the gene synthesis market and has since
become the global market leader. Today, the company is one of the
leading specialists in the Synthetic Biology field. Experts at
GENEART provide key technologies for the development and production
of new therapeutics and vaccines. Customers also take advantage of
GENEART services to customize enzyme attributes, such as the
attributes of enzymes used as detergent additives, and to construct
bacteria, which produce complex biopolymers or break down polymers,
such as synthetics, petroleum components, etc. Our production and
service spectrum spans a wide range, from the production of synthetic
genes according to DIN EN ISO 9001-2000, to the creation of gene
libraries in the combinatorial biology, to the development and
production of DNA-based biologically active substances. The GENEART
AG in Regensburg (Germany) and the subsidiaries GENEART Inc. in
Toronto (Canada) and GENEART Inc. in San Francisco (USA) employ more
than 190 people. Since May 2006, GENEART is listed on the German
Stock Exchange.

Synthetic Biology 4.0:
The Synthetic Biology 4.0 is organized by the BioBricks Foundation in
cooperation with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
(HKUST), the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Chinese University
of Hong Kong (CUHK). The BioBricksTM Foundation is a nonprofit
organization. It was established by engineers and scientists to
foster the development and responsible use of technologies based on
BioBrick standard DNA sequences.
Copyright © Hugin AS 2008. All rights reserved.