ATMI and Finesse Announce Agreement for Integrated Bioprocess Reactor

ATMI PadReactor(TM) System and Finesse Controller Technology Offered as a Turnkey System


DANBURY, Conn. and NEW YORK, March 30, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ATMI, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATMI) today announced a global distribution agreement with Finesse Solutions, LLC, of San Jose, CA, a manufacturer of measurement and control solutions for bioprocess applications. The deal gives ATMI the right to sell Finesse T700 control systems with the ATMI single-use Integrity™ PadReactorTM system. The combined turnkey system will provide the single-use market with a best-in-class, ready-to-use bioreactor platform.

The alliance combines the improved mixing and gas transfer performance of the space-efficient PadReactor system with the industry's leading bioreactor control, archive, and single-use sensor platform, namely, state-of-the-art TruFluor™ sensors for pH and dissolved oxygen and TruTorr™ sensors for pressure. In addition, the integrated system couples ATMI LifeScience's Integrity PadReactor™ system with Finesse's TruViu® G3 hardware and TruBio® 4.0 software, which are pre-configured for controlling process parameters such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, agitation, gas/liquid flow, and auxiliary analog inputs/loops.

The integrated bioreactor system can be purchased from ATMI in a single transaction with follow-on application and technical support from both ATMI and Finesse. Under the terms of the agreement, ATMI will offer fully-integrated bioreactors for the production of recombinant proteins or vaccines. Additionally, ATMI will provide all post point-of-sale customer support for PadReactor hardware and disposables while Finesse will support the controller, sensors, and software.

Specifically designed to meet the needs of cell culturists, ATMI's PadReactor system is ideally suited to laboratory environments, process development centers, clinical material supply, and flexible GMP-manufacturing. The innovative, cube-shaped bioreactor vessel, which offers comparable functionality to classical stirred-tank bioreactors, is a single-use bag integrating an internal paddle mixing and sparger system. The reactor, available in sizes ranging from 25L to 1200L, has been engineered to work in harmony with Finesse's cGMP-capable, highly configurable software, which features comprehensive functionality combined with easy process configuration and display.

"This integrated bioreactor system represents the embodiment of our open architecture philosophy, whereby we continually seek to provide end-users with the best technologies for the best integrated processes," commented Jeff Craig, ATMI LifeSciences Global Director, Business Development and Marketing. "This agreement has evolved from previous engineering and strategic collaborations that successfully combined Finesse's best-in-class bioreactor control platform with our innovative PadReactor system to offer customers a seamless, ready-to-use system through a single point-of-sale with cross-functional team support."

Finesse Chief Executive Officer, Barbara Paldus, added, "We are excited to forge this relationship with ATMI. ATMI has made itself the leader in bioprocesses, requiring low shear agitation while maintaining oxygen transfer. By combining Finesse's control and single-use sensor platform with the PadReactor system, we will gain a unique advantage over the competition. The end result will be the most effective and productive system for micro-carrier-based processes in the industry."

For more information on the turnkey bioreactor system, please contact ATMI LifeSciences representatives.

About ATMI

ATMI, Inc. provides specialty semiconductor materials, leading-edge materials development science, and high-purity materials handling and delivery solutions designed to increase process efficiencies for the worldwide semiconductor, flat panel, and life sciences industries. For more information, please visit http://www.atmi.com.

The ATMI, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5254

About ATMI LifeSciences

ATMI LifeSciences is a leader in single-use mixing, storage, and bioreactor technology, fluoropolymer-based products, and custom-engineered, flexible packaging solutions. The business's fundamental knowledge of polymers, specially selected resins, and its clean room manufacturing experience combine to help drive optimum performance in critical disposable process operations. For more information, please visit www.atmi-lifesciences.com.

About Finesse Solutions, LLC

California-based Finesse Solutions, LLC, leads the way in developing new measurement and control technologies, in order to enable the transition to single-use systems, bring new capabilities to existing bioreactor platforms, and harmonize global bio-process information transfer. Our current product family provides comprehensive measurement and control solutions for upstream processes in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. For more information, please visit us at www.finesse.com">www.finesse.com.

ATMI, the ATMI logo, Integrity, and PadReactor are trademarks or registered trademarks of ATMI, Inc., in the United States, other countries or both. All other names are trademarks of their respective companies.

Statements contained herein that relate to ATMI's future performance, including, without limitation, statements with respect to ATMI's anticipated results of operations or level of business for 2011 or any other future period, are forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on current expectations only and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including, but not limited to, changes in semiconductor industry growth (including, without limitation, wafer starts) or ATMI's markets; competition, problems, or delays developing, commercializing and delivering new products; problems or delays in integrating acquired operations and businesses; uncertainty in the credit and financial markets; and other factors described in ATMI's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, and other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. ATMI undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.



            

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