Emerging Biotech Ikonisys Inc. Appoints Top Level Sigma-Tau Executive To Its Board Of Directors PR Newswire -- May 14, 2002 NEW HAVEN, Conn., May 14/PRNewswire/ -- Ikonisys, Inc. announced today that a senior executive with Sigma-Tau, one of Italy's leading pharmaceutical companies, has joined the Ikonisys board of directors. Mauro Bove, head of Corporate Development and a member of the Board of Directors of Sigma-Tau Finanziaria S.P.A, has more than 20 years of business and management experience within the pharmaceutical industry. He has served in a number of senior positions in business, licensing and corporate development within Sigma-Tau, which has subsidiaries in most European countries and the United States. "Mauro Bove brings to the board an extensive knowledge of the medical business that will help Ikonisys as it develops and begins to market new technology in the area of cell-based diagnostics," said Dr. Petros Tsipouras, Chief Executive Officer of Ikonisys, the New Haven, Conn.-based biotechnology company at the forefront of cell-based diagnostics. "His contributions should assist Ikonisys in its many business strategies and goals." Bove has played a pivotal role in various international licensing and mergers and acquisitions transactions, including the formation of IRBM. That joint venture by Sigma-Tau and Merck Sharpe & Dohme, the UK subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., was established to study and create new active substances for the immune system and to create new therapies in the treatment of viruses. Bove obtained his law degree from the University of Parma, Italy, in 1980. In 1985, he attended the Academy of American and International Law at the International and Comparative Law Center in Dallas, Texas. Ikonisys will begin clinical trials on its new Down's syndrome diagnostic test this summer. The Down syndrome test is the first product for Ikonisys, which uses a systems-integrated approach to cell-based diagnostics, converging molecular and cellular biology, microscopy, image analysis and information technology. Ikonisys, Inc., a privately held company, is harnessing cell-based diagnostics through the development of a highly flexible proprietary platform for both the identification of cells of interest and diagnostic signals generated within those cells. It provides the capability to analyze large volumes of information in an accurate and rapid manner. The applications of this technology will allow early detection of genetic abnormalities and cancer detection and monitoring at a lower cost and less invasively than current diagnostic methods. Contact: Angel Streeter of The TransMedia Group, 561-750-9800, ext. 21. AStreeter@transmediagroup.com