Thursday December 7, 2000

COMPANY PRESS RELEASE

Transgenomic Positioned to Develop Presence in Biopharmaceutical Market

Newly-Created Biopharmaceutical Position to Drive Company Expansion

SAN JOSE, Calif., and OMAHA, Neb., (December 7, 2000) -- Transgenomic (Nasdaq:TBIO) today announced that Dr. Leslie Beadling has been hired to the newly created position of Vice President of Market Development - Biopharmaceuticals. This hire reflects Transgenomic's continued growth in life sciences and the Company's dedication to the rapidly expanding biopharmaceutical market, currently estimated to be valued at $20 billion dollars a year.

"We view the development of this emerging market as a key expansion opportunity for the Company," said Executive Vice President of Emerging Markets, Jed Doyle. "Dr. Beadling has more than 20 years of experience in both business and product development and research. This experience will benefit Transgenomic in better aligning our products to deliver solutions to the biopharmaceutical segment of the life sciences industry."

Over 200 million people worldwide have been helped by the more than 80 biotechnology drug products and vaccines already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Today, there are over 350 biopharmaceuticals and vaccines under development, for diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, obesity and others. Errors in the genetic code are responsible for 3,000 to 4,000 hereditary diseases, including Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The Human Genome Project has the potential to unlock the secrets of many diseases and to offer new targets for drug development.

"The biopharmaceutical industry is growing exponentially and with Transgenomic's technology - particularly in the discovery of genetic mutations that offer valuable insight into disease states - we are well suited to benefit this industry in its endeavor to discover new drugs and diagnostic techniques at a faster pace," noted Dr. Beadling. "I look forward to developing the market opportunities for Transgenomic and positioning the company as a strong and viable candidate in the biopharmaceutical industry."

Dr. Beadling holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Yale University. Most recently, he was Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Worthington Biochemical Corporation of Lakewood, New Jersey. While at Worthington Biochemical Corporation he focused on new business development, research and product development. Previously, he served over 20 years with Pharmacia Biotech of Piscataway, New Jersey (currently Amersham Pharmacia Biotech).

About Transgenomic

Transgenomic provides innovative research tools to the genomics segment of the life sciences industry. These tools enable researchers to discover and understand variation in the human genetic code, or genome, in order to accelerate and improve drug development and diagnostics. Transgenomic believes its WAVE® System will become a leading tool to analyze genetic mutations. 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 genetic 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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