Helicos BioSciences Corporation Announces Prenatal Diagnostics IP Sale To Sequenom

Helicos BioSciences Corporation (OTCQB: HLCS.PK) announced today that it has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Sequenom, Inc. pursuant to which Sequenom purchased all rights, title and interest in Helicos’ United States Patent Application Serial Nos. 12/709,057 and 12/727,824 (Methods for Detecting Fetal Nucleic Acids and Diagnosing Fetal Abnormalities) and certain related proprietary materials. In consideration for the sale and transfer of the purchased assets, Sequenom paid Helicos $1.3 million.

"The transaction with Sequenom is consistent with our strategy for realizing the maximum value from Helicos’s foundational intellectual property portfolio,” stated Dr. Ivan Trifunovich, President and CEO of Helicos. “The two patent applications are intellectual property assets focused on the sequencing applications in prenatal molecular diagnostics (MDx), where Sequenom is a market leader, and where Helicos does not compete. The Helicos patent estate continues to dominate several aspects of the next-generation sequencing field, and the company intends to continue vigorously defending its IP rights through licensing and patent enforcement strategies, including the ongoing lawsuit against Illumina, Life Technologies, and Pacific Biosciences.”

Helicos will use the proceeds from the sale of assets to fund its ongoing operations.

Additional information can be found in Helicos’ Current Report on Form 8-K as filed with the SEC on April 10, 2012. This report includes a discussion regarding the company's need to raise capital.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements". In particular, the statements herein regarding our litigation plans, ability to raise capital or finance our operations and statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "intends", "estimates", "plans", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "should", "could" or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Our actual results may differ significantly from our expectations. We assume no obligation to update this forward-looking information. A discussion of the risk factors facing us can be found under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, and in our other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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