Thursday December 28, 2000

COMPANY PRESS RELEASE

Anonymous Benefactor Sells Art Collection to Donate Proceeds to Cancer Research

Funds Purchased Transgenomic's WAVE® System For a Swiss Hospital's Department of Oncology

SAN JOSE, Calif., and OMAHA, Neb., (December 28, 2000) -- Transgenomic (Nasdaq:TBIO) reports that an unnamed benefactor recently sold an extensive South American and African art collection to fund the purchase of a WAVE® Nucleic Acid Fragment Analysis System by the Oncology Division of Geneva Hospital. The WAVE System will be used in Geneva Hospital's ongoing research into the molecular basis of cancer by screening patients for hereditary predisposition to disease. Geneva Hospital is the second organization in Switzerland to have a WAVE System.

"The WAVE System will be used to screen patients for well-recognized mutations such as those associated with breast, ovarian and gastrointestinal cancer, and for research into other mutations that have not yet been identified," said André-Pascal Sappino, M.D., of Geneva Hospital's Division of Oncology. "The WAVE detects subtle abnormalities at a reasonable cost and in a reasonable amount of time - from this we can establish whether these abnormalities are associated with the onset of certain diseases, including cancer."

Geneva Hospital has used the WAVE System for nearly six months. The system is also used to discover mutations that may be associated with other cancers and metabolic diseases.

"Transgenomic's mission is to enable medical researchers around the world to find mutations associated with genetically-based diseases such as cancer. Our technology has been recognized as among the fastest, most sensitive and cost effective tools for genetic analysis," said Collin D'Silva, president and chief executive officer of Transgenomic. "We are excited that the Geneva Hospital has integrated our WAVE System into its diagnostic efforts, as many research institutions have already done with more that 450 placements worldwide."

About Transgenomic

Transgenomic is a leading provider of innovative research tools to the genomics and biopharmaceutical industries worldwide. Transgenomic systems enable researchers to discover and understand variation in the human genetic code, or genome, in order to accelerate and improve drug development. The WAVE® System allows researchers to analyze both known and unknown genetic mutations faster, with more accuracy and at a lower cost than other commercially available techniques.

As efforts to sequence the human genome near completion, understanding variations in the genetic sequence, or mutation analysis, is becoming the vital link to the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic products. By comparing mutations in the genome to the occurrence of diseases or particular traits, correlation can be made between genes and specific diseases or traits. The WAVE® System, unlike tools employing more conventional technologies, can detect these genetic mutations without previous knowledge of their existence or position.

As a result, the WAVE® System provides researchers a more accurate and efficient means of performing the experiments necessary to identify mutations and to correlate the relationships between mutations and diseases.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect management's current views and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. Such statements are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties described from time to time in Transgenomic, Inc.'s reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any change in such factors, risks and uncertainties may cause the actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to in such statements. Accordingly, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to all statements contained in this press release.

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