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Spartan Bioscience Announces First Point-of-Care DNA Testing System for Personalized Medicine

Spartan RX CYP2C19 designed to help cardiologists determine most effective anti-blood clotting drug and dosage at the onset of heart attacks

OTTAWA, ON, August 10, 2010 - Spartan Bioscience Inc., a privately held molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets DNA testing systems for on-demand applications, today announced the availability of the Spartan RX, the first complete sample-to-result, point-of-care DNA testing system for personalized medicine. The non-invasive and easy-to-use system provides automated results in one hour, enabling physicians to tailor treatments based on a patient’s genotype faster than ever before.

Spartan RX CYP2C19

The first available test, Spartan RX CYP2C19, was designed to help cardiologists identify patients who have a gene mutation that causes impaired metabolism to the popular anti-blood clotting medication Plavix^® (clopidogrel), which may lead to major adverse cardiac events. The CYP2C19*2 mutation is found in up to 30 percent of the world’s population.¹ These gene carriers who receive the standard dose of Plavix following a cardiac stent insertion to open clogged arteries have an 11.7 percent absolute risk of death, stroke, or heart attack in the first year compared to 8.3 percent for non-carriers.² The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning for Plavix in March 2010. The genotype results provided by the Spartan RX CYP2C19 test will help determine the most effective anti-blood clotting drug and dosage at the onset of heart attacks. For more information about the Spartan RX CYP2C19, please visit: http://www.spartanbio.com/products/spartan-rx/.

“Currently, genetic testing for Plavix non-response is performed in central labs and it takes one to seven days to get a test result back. This is often too late because most of the complications for CYP2C19*2 carriers occur in the first 24 to 48 hours,”³ said Derek So, M.D., staff cardiologist, University of Ottawa Heart Institute. “As a one-hour point-of-care test, the Spartan RX CYP2C19 has the potential to significantly reduce major cardiac events in heart attack patients.”

“The long-term trend for DNA testing is to move from the central lab to point-of-care,” said Paul Lem, M.D., founder of Spartan Bioscience. “Spartan has turned this prediction into reality by creating a fully integrated DNA collection, extraction and analysis platform, and adding an intuitive interface that can be operated by nurses and other non-technical users.”

The Spartan RX System and Spartan RX CYP2C19 test are currently available for investigational testing. At the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Dr. So is using the testing system to run the RAPID GENE study, a prospective randomized clinical trial, which will determine if alternative anti-blood clotting therapy with Effient^® (prasugrel) for CYP2C19*2 carriers reduces major adverse cardiovascular events. The Heart Institute is Canada’s largest and foremost cardiovascular health center. Spartan Bioscience plans on using the results from the clinical trial to secure the appropriate regulatory approvals around the world.

“Over the course of 5 years, Spartan Bioscience has developed a flexible, point-of-care DNA testing system that enables us to enter new multi-billion dollar markets,” said Larry D’Andrea, CEO of Spartan Bioscience. “The Spartan RX CYP2C19 is the first of many personalized medicine tests designed to help reduce adverse events to blockbuster drugs and ultimately, save thousands if not millions of lives.”

About Spartan Bioscience
Founded in 2005, Spartan Bioscience Inc. is a privately held molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets DNA testing systems for on-demand applications. The company is focusing on decentralized and point-of-care applications where rapid and convenient DNA testing is particularly important, such as pharmacogenetics, infectious diseases, and food and water safety testing.

The Spartan logo is a registered trademark of Spartan Bioscience Inc.
Plavix is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals.
Effient is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company.

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For Media and Analyst inquiries, please contact:

Larry D’Andrea
CEO
Spartan Bioscience Inc.
1-613-228-7756 x701
media@spartanbio.com

1 Damani SB, Topol EJ. (2010). JACC. 56:109-11.
2 Mega JL et al. (2009). N Engl J Med. 360:354-62.
3 Wiviott SD et al. (2007). N Engl J Med. 357:2001-2015.

Spartan Bioscience receives the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance 2010 Award for Outstanding Product Achievement in the ICT/Health Sector

Ottawa, ON, May 20, 2010 - Spartan Bioscience is proud to announce that the company is the recipient of the CATA 2010 Award for Outstanding Product Achievement in the ICT/Health Sector. Sponsored by Wellington West Capital, the award is granted annually by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) to a Canadian organization for an outstanding engineering development which has resulted in the production of a world-class product or family of products. The product must have proven itself in operation, and its design and market success must enhance Canada’s international reputation for innovation and excellence.

“Spartan is thrilled to win this award. It demonstrates a wider awareness of our achievements among the broad CATA membership,” said Larry D’Andrea, CEO of Spartan Bioscience.

The Spartan DX-12 is the first commercially-available DNA testing system for on-demand applications that is fast, affordable and easy to use. Applications include decentralized testing for infectious diseases, human genetic testing, food safety and water testing.

“These award winners have shown that they are innovators and skilled business people. They are role models for the development of commercially successful enterprises in Canada. CATA’s role as their advocate is to ensure that we create a rich foundation of programs and initiatives that enable leading entrepreneurs to launch their products and exploit their new business opportunities,” said John Reid, President of CATA.

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For Media and Analyst inquiries, please contact:

Larry D’Andrea
CEO
Spartan Bioscience Inc.
1-613-228-7756 x701
media@spartanbio.com

Spartan Bioscience Founder Dr. Paul Lem receives the Ontario Premier’s 2010 Catalyst Award as Best Young Innovator

Young Scientist Honoured for Spartan DX-12 DNA Testing System

Ottawa, ON, May 18, 2010 – Mr. Larry D’Andrea, CEO, and the Board of Directors of Spartan Bioscience Inc., a Canadian molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets DNA testing systems for on-demand applications, today announced that Dr. Paul Lem is the 2010 recipient of the Ontario Premier’s Catalyst Award as Best Young Innovator.

Dr. Paul Lem, founder of Spartan Bioscience, is one of Canada’s most successful emerging biotechnology entrepreneurs. At age 30, Dr. Lem founded Spartan Bioscience and launched his most notable invention, the Spartan DX-12. This medical device is a DNA testing system that is fast, affordable, and easy to use. It is designed for decentralized applications in fields such as infectious diseases, human genetic testing, food safety, and water testing. Thanks to his drive and creativity, Dr. Lem has put the Spartan DX-12, Spartan Bioscience, and Ontario at the forefront of the rapidly growing worldwide market for on-demand DNA testing.

“We are very proud that Dr. Lem has been honoured with this award,” said Larry D’Andrea, CEO of Spartan Bioscience. “Not only does it acknowledge the innovativeness of Dr. Lem’s invention, but it validates the importance of on-demand DNA testing.”

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For Media and Analyst inquiries, please contact:

Larry D’Andrea
CEO
Spartan Bioscience Inc.
1-613-228-7756 x701
media@spartanbio.com

Larry D’Andrea joins Spartan Bioscience as CEO

Momentum continues as company moves to larger offices and hires more senior staff

Ottawa, ON, September 30, 2009 – Dr. Paul Lem, Founder, and the Board of Directors of Spartan Bioscience Inc., a Canadian molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets DNA analyzers for on-demand applications, today announced the appointment of Mr. Larry D’Andrea as CEO. This appointment, together with the recent addition of Dr. Steve de Hennin as Director of Research and Development and a move to larger offices, positions Spartan to be a dominant player in the DNA marketplace.

“We are excited to add Larry D’Andrea and Dr. Steve de Hennin to the Spartan team. As Spartan’s CEO, Larry will be responsible for implementing our strategy of providing customers with end-to-end solutions for DNA testing,” said Dr. Paul Lem, founder, Spartan Bioscience. “In my new role as Founder, I will be supporting Larry in developing Spartan’s technology strategy. Steve will be a great help in this regard because he is a crackerjack engineer and an inspiring executive.”

“Since the inception of Spartan in January, 2005, we have strived to add the best ‘Spartans’ we could find. With these recent additions we have established a very experienced senior team to guide the company to the next level of performance,” said Mark Kershey, President of Spartan Bioscience. “As one of the 3 original inventors/founders of Spartan, Dr. Lem has deemed this point as the logical time to transition his role and we applaud him for what had to be a difficult decision on his part. Having established commercial sales in August, 2009, we are poised for accelerated growth and are more than pleased to have both Larry and Steve on the Spartan team.”

Larry D’Andrea as new CEO

Mr. D’Andrea has more than 20 years experience in consulting to companies and producing dramatic bottom-line results. Most recently the leader of the Canadian M&A practice for Grant Thornton LLP, Mr. D’Andrea was a co-founder of Alluence Capital Advisors Inc. and a former partner with Ernst & Young. He has international experience leading projects in Canada, US, Mexico, Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic, Japan, Singapore, and China. Mr. D’Andrea’s professional designations include Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and Professional Engineer (P.Eng.).

”I am excited by Spartan’s potential – the Spartan technology will be a key part of the complete end-to-end solution that will bring low-throughput DNA testing to a broader market. Spartan will be able to create markets that previously could not access DNA testing because of the high cost of the instruments and the high skill requirements of the scientists performing the tests. While creating a new market does have its challenges, I look forward to working with the Spartan team as we begin to establish our footprint,” said Larry D’Andrea, the new CEO of Spartan Bioscience.

New Director of R&D

Dr. Steve de Hennin was recently appointed Director of Research and Development at Spartan Bioscience. He is responsible for managing all of the development engineering activities of Spartan.

He brings a wide range of product and application development experiences. Among his many previous successes was managing the telecom product development and manufacturing release of MEMS / spectrometer based ROADM product and technologies and automated alignment and laser welding stations. The products Steve and his team developed currently dominate the world telecom market. Earlier in his career, Dr. de Hennin headed a technical team operating a billion-dollar steel rolling mill, implementing state-of-the-art control systems on steel traveling at speeds in excess of 1m/s. Steve holds B.Eng Hons. from the University of Queensland and a Ph.D. in Process Systems Engineering from Imperial College, University of London.

New offices

As the company has grown, so too has the need for more office space, so Spartan Bioscience has recently relocated to a larger space to accommodate more staff – both in the management and on the scientific and research side of the business. They are now located at 204-6 Gurdwara Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2E 8A3. New contact numbers include Tel: (613) 228-7756 and Fax: (613) 228-8636.

About Spartan Bioscience
Founded in 2005, Spartan Bioscience Inc. is a privately-held molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets PCR-based DNA analyzers for on-demand applications. The company is focusing on applications where rapid and convenient DNA testing is particularly important, such as low-throughput research experiments and non-batched testing for infectious diseases. For more information, please visit the website at www.spartanbio.com.

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For Media and Analyst inquiries, please contact:

Shelley Mullins
Public Relations & Communications
Spartan Bioscience Inc.
shelley.mullins@spartanbio.com
613-866-8803