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Epigenomics CEO Alex Olek named one of the the world’s top young innovators by TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
Date:  Thursday, 23.05.2002
Press release, Berlin, Germany and Cambridge, MA
OLEK HONORED AT EXCLUSIVE THREE-DAY EVENT WHERE INTERNATIONAL LEADERS CONNECT WITH 100 TOP INNOVATORS UNDER AGE 35
Epigenomics AG, a transatlantic biotech company pioneering the applications of DNA methylation, today announced that its CEO, Dr. Alex Olek, has been chosen as one of the world’s 100 Top Young Innovators by Technology Review, MIT’s Magazine of Innovation. The TR100, chosen by Technology Review, MIT’s award-winning magazine of innovation, consists of 100 young individuals whose innovative work in business and technology has a profound impact on today’s world. Nominees are recognized for their contribution in transforming the nature of technology in industries such as biotechnology, computing, energy, medicine, manufacturing, nanotechnology, telecommunications and transportation.

Epigenomics, which Olek co-founded in 1998 in Berlin, has grown from a five-member founding team in a Berlin backyard to a transatlantic Biotech concern with a total of over 100 staff in Berlin and Seattle. Epigenomics uses a certain digital DNA methylation patterns to enable the early detection and improved classification of complex diseases, such as cancer. Epigenomics is spearheading molecular diagnostics and associated applications essential for the development of tomorrow\'s personalized medicine.

"It’s a great honor being included for such a prestigious award," noted Olek. "In only a short space of time, Epigenomics has achieved many exciting milestones. However, I must share this honor with my teams in Berlin and Seattle, whose dedication and loyalty must also be recognized."

Olek is being honored today during a conference and awards ceremony at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The event, themed "The Innovation Economy: How Technology is Transforming Existing Businesses and Creating New Ones", includes a full day of conference sessions and panel discussions followed by an evening gala awards ceremony. Hosted by Technology Review’s Editor-in-Chief John Benditt and CNBC’s Consuelo Mack, conference speakers include international leaders such as Kenneth Starr Esq.; Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School professor and author of The Innovators Dilemma; Nadine Strossen, president of the ACLU; Rodney Brooks, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Co-director of Project Oxygen, MIT; Richard Rashid, Senior Vice President, Microsoft Research; and David Tennenhouse, Vice President and Corporate Technology Group Director, Intel Corporation.

TR100’s panel of judges includes:

· Dr. David Baltimore, President, California Institute of Technology
· Alfred Berkeley III, Vice Chairman, NASDAQ
· Richard Demillo, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Hewlett-Packard
· Dr. Philippe Janson, Vice President, IBM Academy of Technology
· Dr. Robert M. Metcalfe, Venture Partner, Polaris Venture Partners
· Dr. Cherry A. Murray, Senior Vice President of Physical Science Research, Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies
· Nicholas Negroponte, Director, MIT Media Laboratory
· Dr. Judith Rodin, President, University of Pennsylvania

About Technology Review Inc.
Re-launched in 1998 as \"MIT\'s Magazine of Innovation,\" Technology Review is the world\'s oldest technology magazine. The magazine, as well as its signature events and Internet businesses, delivers essential information on emerging technologies on the verge of commercialization. Since its re-launch, Technology Review’s paid circulation has more than tripled, from 92,000 to 310,000 (as of January 2002). Several hundred thousand current MIT alumni, faculty and students, senior technology thinkers and influencers - venture capitalists, chief scientists, researchers, senior corporate executives, investors, and innovators throughout the world - constitute the Technology Review community. Technology Review is published monthly and is available on newsstands and online at www.technologyreview.com.

About Epigenomics
Epigenomics is a transatlantic biotechnology company, with headquarters in Berlin, Germany and its wholly owned subsidiary in Seattle, Washington, USA, pioneering tomorrow\'s personalized medicines. By detecting DNA methylation patterns, the \"on\" and \"off\" signs for genes, Epigenomics can create a digitized readout (Digital Phenotype®) for each tissue. The comparison of healthy and sick tissue enables an exact diagnosis of disease at a very early stage and reveals new therapeutic opportunities. The combination of diagnosis and therapy, based on this epigenetic information and our robust proprietary technology, is leading the way to improving patients\' quality of life. Epigenomics is the world\'s first and only company focusing exclusively on DNA methylation and its importance in the post-genomic age, and is supported by the world\'s premier network of academic researchers and clinicians with expertise in the field of cancer and DNA methylation. For further information, please visit our website at
www.epigenomics.com.
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