Techne Corporation Announces That John L. Higgins has Accepted a Seat on Techne's...

Techne Corporation Announces That John L. Higgins has Accepted a Seat on
Techne's Board

MINNEAPOLIS, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Techne Corporation (Nasdaq:
TECH) today announced that Mr. John L. Higgins has accepted a position on
Techne's Board of Directors and will also serve as a member of Techne's Audit,
Compensation and Nominations and Governance Committees. Mr. Higgins' initial
term will begin immediately and run through October 29, 2009. Techne's
shareholders reelect Directors on an annual basis.

Mr. Higgins has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Ligand
Pharmaceuticals Incorporated since January 2007 and has been a member of
Ligand's Board of Directors since March 2007. From 1997 until joining Ligand,
Mr. Higgins was with Connetics Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical
company, as its Chief Financial Officer, and also served as Executive Vice
President, Finance and Administration and Corporate Development at Connetics
from January 2002 until its acquisition by Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. in
December 2006.

Mr. Higgins was previously a member of the executive management team at
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. Currently, he is
a Director of BioCryst and serves as Chairperson of its Audit Committee.
Before joining BioCryst in 1994, Mr. Higgins was a member of the healthcare
banking team of Dillon, Read & Co. Inc., an investment banking firm. Mr.
Higgins also serves as Chairman of CoMentis, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company,
and has served as a director of numerous public and private companies. He
graduated Magna Cum Laude with an A.B. from Colgate University.

Mr. Thomas E. Oland, Techne's Chairman and CEO, said, "I am extremely pleased
with Mr. Higgins' decision to accept a position on Techne's Board. His
combination of biopharmaceutical business experience and background as a chief
financial officer and investment banker, combined with his current
responsibilities as a CEO, are all essential qualifications that will benefit
Techne. We are very fortunate to have a person of his caliber on our Board. I
am very confident that he will make a significant contribution to our future
success."

Techne Corporation has two operating subsidiaries: Research and Diagnostic
Systems, Inc. (R&D Systems) of Minneapolis, Minnesota and R&D Systems Europe,
Ltd. (R&D Europe) of Abingdon, England. R&D Systems is a specialty
manufacturer of biological products. R&D Systems has two subsidiaries,
BiosPacific, Inc. (BiosPacific), located in Emeryville, California and R&D
Systems China Co. Ltd., (R&D China), located in Shanghai, China. BiosPacific
is a worldwide supplier of biologics to manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic
systems and immunodiagnostic kits. R&D China and R&D Europe distribute
biotechnology products.

SOURCE Techne Corporation

Greg Melsen, Chief Financial Officer, or Kathy Backes, Controller, both of
Techne Corporation, +1-612-379-8854