DRI Capital Inc. Acquires Royalties from Nanogen Inc. for US$10 Million

TORONTO & SAN DIEGO--(Business Wire)--
DRI Capital Inc. (DRI) and Nanogen, Inc. (Nasdaq:NGEN) announced
today that they have entered into an agreement for DRI to acquire, for
US$10 million, all future royalties generated by Applied Biosystems
(ABI) under a license ABI has taken from Nanogen for MGB(TM) (minor
groove binder) technology.

"This transaction extends DRI's interests in royalties related to
molecular biology research tools," said Joshua Salisbury, Managing
Director at DRI. "This agreement is another example of the tailored
and innovative sources of capital DRI offers and we are pleased that
we were able to work with Nanogen again."

"Monetizing this royalty stream provides us with a non-dilutive
means of raising capital to fund our operations as we work towards
achieving cash flow breakeven in late 2008," said Howard C. Birndorf,
Nanogen chairman and chief executive officer.

The royalty payments included in the agreement are related to
Nanogen's patented MGB(TM) technology that has been licensed to ABI
for use in ABI's TaqMan(R) products (TaqMan(R) is a registered
trademark of Roche Molecular Systems, Inc.). ABI's TaqMan(R) assays
library using Nanogen's MGB(TM) is the leading life science research
product library for PCR applications. Nanogen's MGB(TM) technology
provides many advantages in the design of oligonucleotide probes, and
has become a sought after component for many companies working in the
molecular detection and diagnostic marketplace. Nanogen has an active
partnering and licensing program and has more than 40 patents related
to nucleic acid detection.

About DRI Capital

DRI Capital is a privately held investment management company,
focused on the healthcare industry, with over US$1 billion under
management. DRI Capital currently manages two funds: the Royalty
Monetization Fund and the Structured Finance Fund.

The Royalty Monetization Fund acquires existing royalty streams at
competitive rates from companies, institutions and inventors. DRI
Capital is a leader in monetizing royalties, having acquired over
US$850 million in royalty-based cash flows on commercialized products.
In 2007 alone, DRI Capital has deployed about US$450 million with
royalty acquisitions on products such as Enbrel, Flumist, Preotact and
PEG-INTRON.

The Structured Finance Fund, launched in January 2008 with
approximately US$300 million, is a hybrid debt and equity fund which
invests in commercial stage healthcare products through investments in
synthetic royalties, debt, and structured debt/equity instruments. The
fund focuses on commercial stage pharmaceuticals and medical devices
and is not limited to a therapeutic category or market segment. The
financing that the Structured Finance Fund provides, which is
primarily non-dilutive, allows for companies to finance in-licensing
and new product acquisitions, sales force expansions, or fund
additional capital needs.

www.dricapital.com

About Nanogen, Inc.

Nanogen (Nasdaq: NGEN - News) has a strong product and proprietary
technology base of diagnostic solutions for two of the fastest growing
in vitro diagnostic (IVD) markets--molecular diagnostics and rapid
point-of-care testing. The company provides their innovative,
high-quality diagnostic products to clinicians and physicians
worldwide, making it easier to predict and diagnose diseases,
ultimately improving patient care. Products include molecular
diagnostic kits and reagents, and kits for rapid, point-of-care
testing. Nanogen has pioneered research in areas involving biomedical
markers, molecular biology and nanotechnology to bring better results
to diagnostics and healthcare. For additional information please visit
Nanogen's website at www.nanogen.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking
statements. Actual results may differ materially from these
forward-looking statements due to a number of factors and,
consequently, you should not rely on such forward looking statement as
prediction of future event. These factors include, but are not limited
to, the Company's ability to achieve cash flow breakeven, ability to
obtain financing, its ability to comply with the terms of its
outstanding indebtedness, ability to remain listed on the NASDAQ
Global Market, whether patents owned or licensed by the Company will
be developed into products, whether the patents owned by Company offer
any protection against competitors with competing technologies,
whether products under development can be successfully developed and
commercialized, whether results reported by our customers or partners
can be identically replicated, and other risks and uncertainties
discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K
or Form 10-Q most recently filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
hereof. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date hereof. Nanogen disclaims any intent or obligation
to update these forward-looking statements.

Nanogen, Inc.
Nick Venuto, CFO
858-410-4600
nvenuto@nanogen.com
or
DRI Capital
Joshua Salisbury, Managing Director, Healthcare Funds
416-324-5712
js@dricapital.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008