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Ezose Sciences in New Agreement with Merck to Advance Glycan Biomarker Discovery in Diabetes

Glycomics Research Will Advance to Clinical Studies

PINE BROOK, New Jersey, December 9, 2011 - Ezose Sciences Inc. announced today that it has entered an agreement with Merck, through a subsidiary, to collaborate on biomarker discovery research in the field of diabetes. The collaboration seeks to identify glycans, the complex carbohydrate component of glycoproteins, which can play a role in health and disease.

The research will make use of Ezose’s proprietary GlycanMap® technology platform and focus on the identification of changes in glycan patterns on post-translationally modified proteins from human subjects. This work will build on a series of collaborative studies previously conducted with Merck.

Financial terms and other details were not disclosed.

“Ezose is committed to enabling the adoption of glycomics into everyday biomedical research, including the important field of biomarker discovery,” said Kiyoshi Nagata, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ezose. “We look forward to continuing our work with Merck.”

About Glycomics

Glycomics is the study of glycans, the sugar chains that during the biochemical process known as glycosylation become attached to many proteins expressed by human cells. The particular glycans involved may crucially determine the function of the resulting glycoprotein and its role in health and disease.

Glycomics is a natural complement to genomics and proteomics, but it has traditionally been hindered by the lack of practical high-throughput and quantitative technologies. Ezose’s proprietary GlycanMap® platform addresses this need by combining, in an automated 96-well format, high-throughput glycan enrichment with specialized MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and custom bioinformatics to both structurally identify and quantitate glycans present in complex biological samples. Such glycans can serve as novel biomarkers to aid in the development of drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tests, including companion diagnostics. In addition, glycomics holds potential for uncovering new therapeutic targets and mechanisms and for guiding the development and manufacture of glycosylated biologics and biosimilars.

About Ezose

Ezose (pronounced ā-zōse) Sciences Inc., based in Pine Brook, NJ, is dedicated to advancing glycomics to improve scientific understanding and healthcare. Ezose’s proprietary GlycanMap® technology platform brings a new dimension to biomarker discovery by enabling glycomics research on a scale comparable to that of genomics and proteomics. Ezose offers glycomics capabilities ranging from glycan analytics and biomarker discovery to diagnostic development and commercialization. The company tailors these capabilities to the needs of corporate partners under collaborative R&D and analytical-services agreements.

Established in 2009 as a US company, Ezose is part of the Diagnostics Division of Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan.

For more information, visit www.ezose.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on expectations in light of the information currently available, assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. Risks and uncertainties include general domestic and international economic conditions such as general industry and market conditions, and changes of interest rate and currency exchange rate. These risks and uncertainties particularly apply with respect to product-related forward-looking statements. Product risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, completion and discontinuation of clinical trials; obtaining regulatory approvals; claims and concerns about product safety and efficacy; technological advances; adverse outcome of important litigation; domestic and foreign healthcare reforms and changes of laws and regulations. Also for existing products, there are manufacturing and marketing risks, which include, but are not limited to, inability to build production capacity to meet demand, unavailability of raw materials and entry of competitive products. The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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