Wall Street Journal Selects PhyloChip Developed on the Affymetrix Platform as a Top...

Wall Street Journal Selects PhyloChip Developed on the Affymetrix Platform as a Top Technology Innovation

Custom Array Developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is
Recognized for Its Contribution to Air Quality Testing
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) announced today that the PhyloChip,
a custom Affymetrix microarray developed by Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, won the bronze prize in the 2008 Wall Street Journal
Technology Innovation Awards. The PhyloChip helps researchers identify
dangerous pathogens before they can affect humans. The PhyloChip was
the only biotech company in the top three to be recognized. There were
700 total entrants.

The custom array PhyloChip was developed to simultaneously
identify and quantify up to 8,900 distinctive environmental and
pathogenic microbial species in a single experiment, in less than nine
hours. The PhyloChip is unprecedented in its ability to accurately
test any clinical or environmental sample without the need for
culturing. The chip has been used by the Department of Homeland
Security for bioterror detection, the Japanese Defence Force, the U.S.
Department of Energy in bioremediation of contaminated soils to
detoxify the earth and the State of California Water Quality Board for
monitoring contaminated beaches.

"The speed with which we can now carry out our research far
outpaces serial cloning. We offer the potential for numerous
applications, including human health assessment, water quality and
environmental cleanup, enabling complete evaluation of numerous
samples on a daily basis," said Gary Andersen, Ph.D., project leader
at Berkeley Lab. "Affymetrix has allowed us to replace expensive and
time-consuming cloning and sequencing with a method that will offer a
competitive advantage to anyone wanting to detect bacteria in soil,
air, water or clinical samples."

"We are proud of the team at Berkeley Lab for creating a custom
array that enables researchers to analyze more environmental and
pathogenic microbial species than traditional techniques," said Kevin
King, president of Affymetrix. "To date Affymetrix has enabled the
design of more than 700 custom arrays, and this recognition by the
Wall Street Journal confirms that we continue to enable scientists to
innovate where there is no commercial array available on the market."

In July the PhyloChip won an R&D Magazine award for technology
advancement. It was recognized for its ability to quickly,
comprehensively and accurately identify species within microbial
samples from any environmental source, without any culturing required.
The PhyloChip is not yet commercially available. For more information
please contact Dr. Andersen at the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory.

This is the second time Affymetrix has been recognized by a
national publication for innovation this year. In March it was named
one of the world's 50 most innovative companies by Fast Company
magazine.

About Affymetrix

Affymetrix GeneChip(R) microarray technology is the
industry-standard tool for analyzing complex genetic information.
After inventing microarray technology in the late 1980s, Affymetrix
scientists have been dedicated to developing innovative products that
provide researchers with a more complete view of the genome. These
products continue to accelerate genetic research and enable scientists
to develop diagnostics and tailor treatments for individual patients
by identifying and measuring the genetic information associated with
complex diseases.

Today, Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top
pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies, as well as
leading academic, government and not-for-profit research institutes.
More than 1,700 systems have been shipped around the world and more
than 13,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the
technology.

Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and has
manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., Cleveland, Ohio, and
Singapore. The company has about 1,100 employees worldwide and
maintains sales and distribution operations across Europe and Asia.
For more information about Affymetrix, please visit the company's
website at www.affymetrix.com.

Forward-looking Statements

All statements in this press release that are not historical are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act as amended, including statements regarding
Affymetrix' "expectations," "beliefs," "hopes," "intentions,"
"strategies" or the like. Such statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially for
Affymetrix from those projected, including, but not limited to: risks
and uncertainties relating to commercial success of the agreement with
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discussed in this press release;
risks of the company's ability to achieve and sustain higher levels of
revenue, higher gross margins and reduced operating expenses;
uncertainties related to technological approaches, manufacturing and
product development; personnel retention; uncertainties related to
cost and pricing of Affymetrix products; dependence on collaborative
partners; uncertainties related to sole-source suppliers; risks
associated with past and future acquisitions; uncertainties relating
to FDA and other regulatory approvals; competition; risks relating to
intellectual property of others and the uncertainties of patent
protection and litigation. These and other risk factors are discussed
in Affymetrix' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and
other SEC reports, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for
subsequent quarterly periods. Affymetrix expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions
to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any
change in Affymetrix' expectations with regard thereto or any change
in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements
are based.

NOTE: Affymetrix, the Affymetrix logo and GeneChip(R) are
registered trademarks owned or used by Affymetrix Inc.

Affymetrix Inc.
Media:
Justin O'Kelly, 408-731-5991
PR Manager
or
Investor:
Doug Farrell, 408-731-5285
Vice President, Investor Relations

Copyright Business Wire 2008