Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that Abbott has invested an additional $20 million in Ibis Biosciences, Inc., an Isis subsidiary. The investment will allow Ibis to further develop the Ibis T5000 Biosensor System, which offers a unique solution for rapid identification and characterization of infectious agents.

By making this investment, Abbott retains the exclusive option to purchase the remaining equity in Ibis for an additional $175 to $190 million through June 30, 2009, depending on whether certain pre-negotiated milestones have been completed. If Abbott acquires Ibis, in addition to the purchase price for Ibis' equity, Isis will receive an earn out tied to the achievement of certain cumulative sales. Including this investment, Abbott has invested $40 million in Ibis and holds 18.6 per cent of the equity in Ibis. The remaining Ibis equity is owned by Isis.

"We are aggressively accelerating the expansion of our commercial products into larger market opportunities, and this recent financing from Abbott will provide the capital to continue on this path," said Michael Treble, president of Ibis. "In just a few short months, we have made significant progress toward completing milestones identified by Abbott and Ibis that will increase the value of Ibis and move us forward toward clinical diagnostics."

Ibis Biosciences, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Isis Pharmaceuticals, has developed and is commercializing the Ibis T5000 Biosensor System for rapid identification and characterization of infectious agents. The Ibis T5000 is currently intended for research use only and not for use in diagnostic procedures.