Company News

BBI Diagnostics and Ambion RNA Diagnostics Announce Cooperative Sales Agreement

Clearwater, FL, April 29, 2003, From the 19th Annual Clinical Virology Symposium -- Boston Biomedica, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBII), a world leader in quality control products for infectious disease tests, and Ambion RNA Diagnostics, a division of Ambion Inc., (Austin, TX) have announced a cooperative sales agreement under which Ambion's Armored RNA¨ and RunReadyª products will be available for purchase through BBI Diagnostics. BBI is known for its ACCURUN Controls, which have achieved worldwide acceptance as independent controls for monitoring infectious disease testing. This partnership brings together two respected names in diagnostics and provides a new level of service to laboratories.

Armored RNA technology is a novel system jointly invented and developed by Ambion and Cenetron Diagnostics, Ltd. to stabilize and protect RNA control sequences, through the packaging of RNA in bacteriophage coat proteins. Without protection, RNA is rapidly degraded by enzymes present in biological systems. Ambion, Inc., The RNA Company¨, is a market leader in the development and supply of innovative RNA-based life science research and molecular biology products. Ambion specializes in the development of products for stabilizing, synthesizing, handling, isolating, storing, detecting and measuring RNA.

The agreement enables BBI to expand its infectious disease quality control product offerings, further strengthening its leadership position in the infectious disease diagnostics market, while allowing Ambion RNA Diagnostics to grow its business through BBI's already established sales channels. Ambion RNA Diagnostics will continue to sell Armored RNA and RunReady products to existing customers with BBI as the exclusive Sales Representative for the products to the clinical diagnostics market.

"Through partnerships with top-line developers such as Ambion, BBI can now offer its customers an even broader range of products and services to suit their specific needs," said John Swatosh, Director, Sales & Marketing, Boston Biomedica, Inc.

"We couldn't be happier to be partnering with such a well known and well respected quality control company," said Jeff Williams, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Ambion RNA Diagnostics. "The benefits are twofold in that our unique RNA technology complements BBI's roster of product offerings and at the same time opens new opportunities for us to expand our business. We look forward to working with them."

About Ambion RNA Diagnostics
Ambion RNA Diagnostics was created to provide RNA-based products and services to the in vitro diagnostic and pharmaceutical processing industries. Ambion's state-of-the-art molecular biology laboratory is a cGMP multi-user, multi-product facility that includes fully equipped QC, process and product development laboratories. The facility is available on a contract-manufacturing basis to provide RNA synthesis, RNA isolation, diagnostic kits, controls and standards, and RNA-based raw materials for bioprocessing applications. Ambion, Inc. is a market leader in RNA-based biotechnology research and molecular diagnostic products. Ambion maintains this leadership position by consistently developing innovative products for handling, preserving, isolating, detecting and measuring RNA. These products are used in the areas of molecular biology, cell biology, microbiology, drug discovery, genomics, and molecular diagnostics.

About Boston Biomedica, Inc.
BBI provides products and services to the life sciences industry to evaluate, monitor, and ensure the quality of infectious disease test results, to improve the preparation of specimens for genomic/proteomic testing, and to safely store and retrieve rare and valuable biological specimens. BBI also manufactures reagents used in test kits and provides a broad range of routine and esoteric research services to governments and industry. BBI operates in three states, and conducts research in new applications for our patented Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT). In 2000, we launched Panacos Pharmaceuticals, and the Company maintains a significant passive investment in this novel antiviral drug development company.

Regarding BBI, statements contained in this news release that state BBI's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are "forward-looking'' statements. It is important to note that BBI's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those projected include the possibility that BBI may not find a significant market for Ambion's Armored RNA¨ and RunReadyª products in quality control testing. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including but not limited to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002. Copies of these documents may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC.