Cepheid Receives Grant to Develop Ten-Color Real-Time PCR Detection Technology for...

Cepheid Receives Grant to Develop Ten-Color Real-Time PCR Detection Technology
for Use in the GeneXpert(R) System

New Capabilities Will Further Extend GeneXpert System Technology Advantages

SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD)
today announced that it has received a notice of grant award from the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop new ten-color
detection technology for use in its GeneXpert(R) System. The $7.5 million
grant will be awarded to Cepheid and the University of Medicine and Dentistry
of New Jersey (UMDNJ) during the planned five-year program. When coupled with
Cepheid's virtual array technology, the new ten-color system will have the
potential to simultaneously detect up to 100 different targets per sample.
Cepheid's current GeneXpert System is capable of six-color detection, with the
potential for up to 60 different targets per sample.

"This program will be primarily driven by our special chemistry capability
which, along with software development, is expected to allow for completion of
the program with no hardware modifications," said John Bishop, Cepheid's Chief
Executive Officer. "Existing GeneXpert System accounts will also be able to
benefit from the expanded test menu that this program should enable."

The new ten-color technology is expected to deliver more cost-effective
infectious disease panel testing applications by increasing the total number
of diagnostic results per sample. The technology will also enable the
development of new, comprehensive antimicrobial resistance and oncology tests.

"The workup of many infectious conditions requires considerable guesswork on
the part of clinicians, who typically order multiple individual tests for
suspected etiologic agents," said David Persing, M.D., Ph.D., Cepheid's Chief
Medical and Technology Officer. "A ten-color cartridge, in combination with
our virtual array technology, gives us the ability to detect as many as 100
distinct targets in a single test. This feature eliminates the need for
guesswork, and when performed on the GeneXpert System, will help deliver
cost-effective, medically actionable results to clinicians and their
patients."

Building upon the success of Cepheid's six-color Xpert(R) MTB/RIF test,
clinical utility of the ten-color system will be demonstrated through
development of a new assay for multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively
drug-resistant (XDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Future GeneXpert-based
tests, which apply the ten-color technology, are expected to follow.

"Our goal is to continue the transformation of the clinical mycobacteriology
laboratory by making it possible to replace time-intensive and less sensitive
culture processes with rapid, sensitive, and accurate molecular techniques
that that are not constrained to a central laboratory environment," said
UMDNJ's David Alland, M.D. "This dramatic increase in the number of targets we
can detect with a single test will enable us to develop an assay for MDR and
XDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis that will give clinicians a full panel of
information, including resistance to the widest variety of treatments."

About the GeneXpert(R) System Molecular Diagnostic Platform
The GeneXpert System is a closed, self-contained, fully-integrated and
automated platform that represents a paradigm shift in the automation of
molecular analysis, producing accurate results in a timely manner with minimal
risk of contamination. The GeneXpert System is the only system to combine
on-board sample preparation with real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction)
amplification and detection functions for fully integrated and automated
nucleic acid analysis. The system is designed to purify, concentrate, detect,
and identify targeted nucleic acid sequences thereby delivering answers
directly from unprocessed samples. Modular in design, the GeneXpert System has
a variety of configurations to meet the broad range of testing demands found
in clinical environments.

About Cepheid
Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) is an on-demand molecular
diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets fully-integrated
systems and tests for genetic analysis in the clinical, industrial and
biothreat markets. The company's systems enable rapid, sophisticated genetic
testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases by automating otherwise
complex manual laboratory procedures. The company's easy-to-use systems
integrate a number of complicated and time-intensive steps, including sample
preparation, DNA amplification and detection, which enable the analysis of
complex biological samples in its proprietary test cartridges. Through its
strong molecular biology capabilities, the company is focusing on those
applications where rapid molecular testing is particularly important, such as
identifying infectious disease and cancer in the clinical market; food,
agricultural, and environmental testing in the industrial market; and
identifying bio-terrorism agents in the biothreat market. See
http://www.cepheid.com for more information.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are not purely
historical regarding Cepheid's or its management's intentions, beliefs,
expectations and strategies for the future, including those relating to
product performance, future products and future market opportunities. Because
such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and
uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from the company's
current expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially include risks and uncertainties such as those relating to:
unforeseen manufacturing problems; uncertainties inherent in the regulatory
process; regulatory developments and changing practices regarding testing;
customer and market acceptance of the product; pricing of any new products;
the failure of products to perform as expected, whether due to manufacturing
errors, defects or otherwise; the impact of competitive products and pricing;
potentially lengthy sales cycles in some markets; reimbursement rates for the
products; uncertainties related to government funding; and the uncertain
impact of the global economic downturn. Readers should also refer to the
section entitled "Risk Factors" in Cepheid's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
2008, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

All forward-looking statements and reasons why results might differ included
in this release are made as of the date of this press release, based on
information currently available to Cepheid, and Cepheid assumes no obligation
to update any such forward-looking statement or reasons why results might
differ.
CONTACTS:
For Media Inquiries: For Cepheid Investor Inquiries:
Jared Tipton Jacquie Ross
Cepheid Corporate Communications Cepheid Investor Relations
408-400-8377 408-400-8329
jared.tipton@cepheid.com investor.relations@cepheid.com

SOURCE Cepheid

Media, Jared Tipton, +1-408-400-8377, jared.tipton@cepheid.com, or Investors,
Jacquie Ross, +1-408-400-8329, investor.relations@cepheid.com, both of
Cepheid