J. Brian Munroe Elected President and Chairman of Personalized Medicine Coalition for Second Term

— Newly Appointed Vice President of WellPoint Brings
Important Payer Constituency Into Coalition —

Washington, D.C. - May 2, 2006 — The Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) announced today that J. Brian Munroe has been re-elected president and chairman by the PMC Board of Directors. Munroe was recently appointed as vice president of federal affairs at WellPoint, the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in the United States, as measured by size of membership. Simultaneously, WellPoint has joined the PMC, thereby broadening the organization's already-diverse representation of personalized medicine constituencies to include the payer community.

“Brian has brought tremendous vision and leadership to PMC as president, and we are pleased that we will have his continued guidance during this period of intense growth and educational activity for the organization,” said PMC Executive Director Edward Abrahams. “As personalized medicine continues to emerge rapidly as a major force in health care, it is important to have representation from all parts of the health care system. With WellPoint’s participation, we now have important input from this key constituency. No other educational and advocacy organization dedicated to health care in Washington enjoys such wide support from across the spectrum of stakeholders with an interest in the future of medicine.”

“Recent innovations in personalized medicine show that this is an important time for all sectors to collaborate so that we can advance science, facilitate adoption, and speed the delivery of targeted therapeutics to patients,” said Mr. Munroe. “This organization has always put patients first, and WellPoint is proud and pleased to support the PMC.”

“As a member of the PMC, WellPoint looks forward to participating in the emerging opportunities to improve the health care system that will come from molecular-based research,” Mr. Munroe said. “WellPoint views the PMC as the place where the relevant issues surrounding personalized medicine can be discussed and as the agent to incorporate good biology into that discussion.”

Munroe is co-founder of PMC and was first elected president in 2004. Prior to joining WellPoint, he was vice president of government relations and public policy at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The PMC Board of Directors is comprised of 18 members representing the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, IT, research and educational, and patient advocacy communities.

About the Personalized Medicine Coalition
The Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC), representing a broad spectrum of academic, industrial, patient, provider, and payer communities, seeks to advance the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine concepts and products for the benefit of patients. For more information on the Personalized Medicine Coalition, please visit www.PersonalizedMedicineCoalition.org.

Contact:
Christine Mackenzie
Feinstein Kean Healthcare
617-577-8110
cmackenzie@fkhealth.com