Invitrogen Promotes David Onions, Ph.D. to Chief Medical Officer; Scientific Leader to Help Company Transition toward Patient-Centric Support Technologies

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 31, 2005--Invitrogen Corporation (Nasdaq:IVGN) today promoted David Onions, Ph.D. to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer. In this new role, Dr. Onions will be responsible for guiding the company's scientific efforts as it moves into areas more closely associated with medical research and closer to patients, such as stem cell technologies, diagnostics support and other clinical studies. Additionally, the position will focus on developing important new corporate relationships and working successfully with regulatory agencies.

"To better support new medical and scientific challenges, our company required a leader who can apply a wider view of healthcare to all areas of the business," said Claude Benchimol, Ph.D., Invitrogen's Senior Vice President of Research and Development. "Dr. Onions' vast experience in areas such as virology, oncogenic viruses, gene therapy and novel vaccines makes him ideally suited to optimize our current technology portfolio with the future demands of scientists and clinicians."

“I am excited about the prospect of applying our significant scientific capabilities on new areas of medicine.”

Dr. Onions joined Invitrogen in 2003. He was a founder and Director of Q-One Biotech, Ltd., which was acquired by Invitrogen through its purchase of BioReliance. Most recently, he served as Chief Scientific Officer for BioReliance, leading Invitrogen's scientific efforts around its preclinical and clinical testing services. In addition to his work with Invitrogen, Dr. Onions currently holds a Personal Chair in Veterinary Molecular Virology at the University of Glasgow.

Additionally, Dr. Onions serves on the boards of several international health care and leading pharmaceutical companies including gene therapy company AustriaNova, the World Health Organization's Expert Advisory Panel on biological standardization and formerly the United States Food and Drug Administration's Advisory Committee on Xenotransplantation.

Dr. Onions holds a BVSc from Bristol University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.

"Invitrogen's technologies are becoming increasingly applicable in areas of medicine across the continuum of healthcare," said Dr. Onions. "I am excited about the prospect of applying our significant scientific capabilities on new areas of medicine."

"Dr. Onions' appointment is a significant step toward new areas of growth for our company that move us closer to the patient," concluded Gregory T. Lucier, Invitrogen's Chairman and CEO. "As we are able to uncover further applications and synergies for our technologies, we will collaborate with other leading organizations in these new markets to find innovative answers to medicine's toughest questions."

Dr. Onions' new position is effective immediately and will report directly to Dr. Benchimol.

About Invitrogen

Invitrogen Corporation (Nasdaq:IVGN) provides products and services that support academic and government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide in their efforts to improve the human condition. The company provides essential life science technologies for disease research, drug discovery, and commercial bioproduction. Invitrogen's own research and development efforts are focused on breakthrough innovation in all major areas of biological discovery including functional genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and cell biology - placing Invitrogen's products in nearly every major laboratory in the world. Founded in 1987, Invitrogen is headquartered in Carlsbad, California and conducts business in more than 70 countries around the world. The company globally employs approximately 4,500 scientists and other professionals and had revenues of more than $1 billion in 2004. For more information, visit www.invitrogen.com

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements contained in this press release are considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and it is Invitrogen's intent that such statements be protected by the safe harbor created thereby. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: 1) Invitrogen will move into more patient-centric areas of research; 2) The company will apply its technologies to new areas of medicine; 3) Invitrogen will collaborate with leading organizations in new markets. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks: a) Invitrogen may continue its current support-driven business model; b) The company may not find new applications for its technology; and c) Invitrogen may choose not to collaborate on any future research ventures, as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Invitrogen's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.