Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
March 26, 2003

Paradigm Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PDGM) today announced the launch of a gene expression microarray services business. This new business builds on the company's expertise in DNA microarray processing and data analysis, which was validated last fall with the signing of a
$23.8 million toxicogenomics contract with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. For that contract, Paradigm will process thousands of DNA microarrays through its gene expression
profiling platform.

To support the start-up of its microarray services business, Paradigm also announced today that it had entered into a co-marketing agreement with Agilent Technologies. Under the terms of the agreement, Paradigm will be a preferred service provider for Agilent's DNA microarray products. Agilent's sales force will provide referrals to Paradigm of its gene expression customers interested in outsourcing their microarray research.

"This microarray services business is a natural outgrowth of our expertise in gene-expression profiling, evidenced by our work for NIEHS," said Heinrich Gugger, Ph.D., president and CEO of Paradigm Genetics. "We're already providing microarray services for the federal government, and it's the logical next step to extend those services to meet the demand of the larger marketplace. We are now
launching a microarray services business, leveraging Agilent's technologies and referrals, which we expect will become a source of immediate revenues for Paradigm."

According to Kalorama Information, a leader in worldwide business intelligence and syndicated market research in life sciences, the total U.S. market for the DNA microarray business is expected to
exceed $1 billion per year by 2007. The company anticipates future customers to include academic laboratories as well as biotechnology, pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies. Additional information on Paradigm's DNA microarray services can be found by visiting www.paradigmgenetics.com/gene_expression/ge_microarray.asp. 

Paradigm Genetics is a biotechnology company aiming to increase R&D productivity by focusing its integrated suite of technologies on the product development cycle, from target discovery to subsequent enhancement of the safety and efficacy profiles of development candidates in agriculture and human health. Paradigm chooses a systems biology approach to understand gene function in the context of biological pathways, to develop assays and biomarkers for molecular diagnostic solutions tailored to the needs of our partners.