Early Access Program Underway With Leading Genome Institutes

HAYWARD, Calif. and Cambridge, U.K. (July 11, 2006) – Solexa, Inc. (Nasdaq: SLXA) today announced the first commercial shipments of the Solexa Genome Analysis System, the Company’s next-generation platform for DNA sequencing, expression profiling and small RNA analysis. The instrument shipments commenced in the second quarter and are the first in a series of anticipated shipments as part of Solexa’s Early Access program, which is expected to continue through summer 2006.  

“Solexa’s technology is bringing genome sequencing to a new stage of development,” said Eric Lander, Ph.D., director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  “Solexa’s system promises to address economically and rapidly a broad range of genetic analysis applications, and we are excited to capitalize on that potential.”  

“The expected throughput, base-calling accuracy, and cost-effectiveness of the Solexa Genome Analysis System will allow us to tackle large-scale projects of several types, including whole human genome resequencing to compare cancerous and normal genomes,” said Elaine Mardis, Ph.D., co-director of the Genome Sequencing Center (GSC) at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. “We are delighted to work with this system in our facility and to build on the relationship we have with Solexa and its scientists.” 

The Early Access program follows a period of collaboration during which scientists from a number of leading institutes, including the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, the Broad Institute and the GSC, processed samples and analyzed data from the system.  

“Our ability to meet the aggressive timetable we set for ourselves marks a major achievement for Solexa, and is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our staff,” said John West, Solexa’s chief executive officer. ”We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with some of the world’s leading genome institutes in the first phase of our Early Access program. We look forward to building on our existing relationships with the personnel at these and other leading institutes to refine the protocols and applications of the Solexa Genome Analysis System and to advance the capabilities of the system to transform genetic analysis.”   

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About Solexa

Solexa, Inc. is developing and preparing to commercialize the Solexa Genome Analysis System, which will be used to perform a range of analyses including whole genome resequencing, gene expression analysis and small RNA analysis. Solexa expects its first-generation instrument, the 1G Genome Analyzer, to generate over a billion bases of DNA sequence per run and to enable human genome resequencing below $100,000 per sample, making it the first platform to reach this important milestone. Solexa's longer-term goal is to reduce the cost of human re-sequencing to a few thousand dollars for use in a wide range of applications from basic research through clinical diagnostics. For further information, please visit www.solexa.com. 

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements related to the current views of Solexa management as to future products, product development including the commercial introduction of the Company’s novel genetic analysis technology and the expansion and success of Solexa's commercial application of its genomics technologies. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "predicts," "expects," "envisions," "hopes," "estimates," "intends," "will," "continue," "may," "potential," "should," "confident," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such expectations of any of the forward-looking statements will prove to be correct, and actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in the forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of Solexa to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements including, among others, risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2006. Solexa does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. 

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