Applied Biosystems and Celera Diagnostics to Webcast and Audiocast December 4, 2003 Investor Day

FOSTER CITY, Calif. & ALAMEDA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 1, 2003–Applera Corporation announced today that it will webcast and audiocast a meeting with the investment community on Thursday, December 4, 2003 at which executives will discuss two of its businesses, Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABINews) and Celera Diagnostics, a joint venture of Applied Biosystems and the third Applera business, Celera Genomics Group (NYSE:CRANews). The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EST and to end at approximately 2:00 p.m. EST.

Tony L. White, Chief Executive Officer of Applera, Michael W. Hunkapiller, Ph.D., President of Applied Biosystems, and Kathy Ordonez, President of Celera Genomics and Celera Diagnostics will co-host the event and will be joined by other members of management. Applied Biosystems executives will discuss trends in biomedical research, the changing needs of Applied Biosystems customers, and new Applied Biosystems strategies and products designed to address these changing needs. Executives also will provide an update on current business conditions, including the status of commercial and government funding for biomedical research. Kathy Ordonez will provide an update on molecular diagnostics discovery and development programs at Celera Diagnostics, including summaries of preliminary results of the Celera Diagnostics disease association programs in breast cancer, myocardial infarction, and Alzheimer’s disease that have been presented recently at scientific meetings.

Investors, securities analysts, representatives of the media and other interested parties may access the webcast via either the investors & media site at www.celera.com or the investors site at www.appliedbiosystems.com. It is suggested that viewers access the webcast 15 minutes before the start of the broadcast. The Investor Day agenda will be posted on these Internet sites on Wednesday, December 3. In addition, a replay of the webcast will be available several hours following the meeting at the same websites mentioned above and will be archived there for at least 90 days. Audio access to the Investor Day is available via telephone at (+1) 706-634-4992 (code “Applera”) at any time from 9:45 a.m. until the end of the meeting.

About Applera Corporation

Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The Applied Biosystems Group serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries, develop new pharmaceuticals, and conduct standardized testing. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of $1.7 billion during fiscal 2003. The Celera Genomics Group, located in Rockville, MD, and South San Francisco, CA, is engaged principally in integrating advanced technologies to discover and develop new therapeutics. Celera intends to leverage its proteomic, bioinformatic, and genomic capabilities to identify and validate drug targets, and to discover and develop new therapeutics. Its Celera Discovery System(TM) online platform, marketed exclusively through Applied Biosystems, is an integrated source of information based on the human genome and other biological and medical sources. Celera Diagnostics, a 50/50 joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics, is focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of novel diagnostic products. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at http://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800-762-6923. Information about Applied Biosystems is available at http://www.appliedbiosystems.com. Information about Celera Genomics and Celera Diagnostics are available at http://www.celera.com and http://www.celeradiagnostics.com, respectively.


Contact:

     Applied Biosystems       Linda Greub,       650-554-2349 (Investors)       greublm@appliedbiosystems.com       David Speechly,       + 44 207.868.2012 (European Media & Investors)       speechdp@eur.appliedbiosystems.com


Source: Applera Corporation