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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 8, 2000
LJL BIOSYSTEMS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
000-23647
(Commission File Number)
DELAWARE 77-0360183
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
incorporation)
405 TASMAN DRIVE
SUNNYVALE, CA 94089
(Address of principal executive offices, with zip code)
(408) 541-8787
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.
On February 7, 2000, LJL BioSystems, Inc. announced that Columbia
University and Virginia Commonwealth University release favorable results
from LJL's SNP platform. Further details regarding this announcement are
contained in the company's news release dated February 8, 2000 attached as an
exhibit hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS
(a) Exhibits:
99.11 LJL BioSystems, Inc. News Release dated February 8, 2000
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
LJL BIOSYSTEMS, INC.
Date: February 9, 2000 By: /s/ Lev J. Leytes
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Lev J. Leytes
President and CEO
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Exhibit 99.11
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
LJL BIOSYSTEMS, INC.: MEDIA RELATIONS:
LARRY TANNENBAUM FRIESTEDT INTERNATIONAL
CFO AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT SUSANNE FRIESTEDT
408-548-0542 619-223-8844
[email protected] [email protected]
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AND VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY RELEASE FAVORABLE
RESULTS FROM LJL'S SNP PLATFORM
- LJL'S GENOMICS SCIENCE GROUP PRESENTS AT G2K CONFERENCE
SUNNYVALE, CA -FEBRUARY 8, 2000 - LJL BioSystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: LJLB) today
presented results from two Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping
studies performed at Columbia University (New York, NY) and Virginia
Commonwealth University (VCU - Richmond, VA) at the G2K - Advances in Genome
Biology and Technology Conference (G2K). Both studies were conducted using
LJL's High Efficiency Fluorescence Polarization (HEFP-SNP(TM)) platform and
both demonstrated high degrees of accuracy.
Dr. James Knowles, one of the co-authors of the Columbia University data,
performed a study of a SNP in the promoter of the cholecystokinin (CCK) gene,
a gene implicated in Panic Disorder diseases. Dr. Knowles genotyped 246
individuals in families with Panic Disorder. All families showed the expected
inheritance patterns. Dr. Knowles said that, "the inherent simplicity of the
homogeneous HEFP(TM) method combined with its cost-efficiency were the
factors that first attracted our attention to LJL's platform. We achieved
both impressive accuracy and a high rate of genotyping within weeks."
Dr. Richard Straub, Director of the Molecular Genetics Laboratory at VCU is
using the LJL HEFP platform in the hunt for schizophrenia genes on
chromosomes 5 and 6. For these linkage disequilibrium studies, novel SNPs are
being generated by DNA sequencing, and then over 1400 individuals from
high-density schizophrenia families are genotyped. Dr. Straub stated, "We are
very pleased -the method is inexpensive, robust, capable of automation, and
potentially quite high throughput. Based on confirmation of over 200
genotypes from six different SNPs by direct sequencing, we have estimated the
accuracy to be about 99.5%. With a bit more effort towards optimization, we
would hope that this figure will improve considerably."
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Data from the Columbia and VCU studies were presented by Dr. Enal Razvi,
Director of Business Development at LJL. The G2K is a prestigious conference
the features participants and speakers from leading academic institutions and
genomics companies around the world. The website for the G2K conference is
www.gcorp.org.
ABOUT LJL BIOSYSTEMS, INC.
LJL BioSystems supplies infrastructure tools to pharmaceutical and biotech
companies engaged in the highly competitive search for new medicines in the
genomics era. LJL's family of proprietary products, marketed as
CRITERION(TM), consists of instruments, consumables, and services. The
Company intends to establish CRITERION as the gold standard for addressing
many of the key bottlenecks in drug discovery. In August 1999, LJL launched
its Genomics Science Group to further commercialize the Company's technology
in SNP genotyping. Since then, several leading genomics customers have
adopted the LJL HEFP-SNP genotyping platform. LJL's worldwide customers
include, among others, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and
Company, Johnson and Johnson, Merck and Co., Tularik, Inc., Millennium
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn, DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company,
Amgen, Inc., Monsanto Company and SmithKline Beecham. LJL is headquartered in
Sunnyvale, California and has a subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Additional
information on LJL and CRITERION technology can be found at www.ljlbio.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed
in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act, including statements regarding
LJL's "expectations", "goals", "beliefs", "hopes", "designs", "intentions",
"strategies" or the like. Such statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including
such factors, among others, as the impact of competitive products and
pricing, the timely development and market acceptance of new products, the
ability to raise capital, concentration of HTS and Ultra-HTS markets, market
conditions, the mix between domestic and international sales, manufacturing
and cost of LJL's products, dependence on collaborative partners, the
enforcement of intellectual property rights, and uncertainties relating to
sole source suppliers, technological approaches, FDA and other regulatory
approvals. These and other risk factors are discussed in LJL's Report on Form
10-K, filed March 30, 1999, Reports on Form 10-Q filed May 14, 1999, August
16, 1999 and November 15, 1999 and Form S-3 dated July 22, 1999 (see, in
particular, Risk Factors and Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations). LJL disclaims any intent or
obligation to update these forward-looking statements. As a result of these
and other factors, LJL expects to experience significant fluctuations in
operating results, and there can be no assurance that LJL will become or
remain consistently profitable in the future.
For information on LJL BioSystems, Inc., contact Larry Tannenbaum, Chief
Financial Officer, at 408-548-0542 or [email protected].
