Molsoft LLC and Hitachi, Ltd. Announce Distribution Agreement for Japanese Market

SAN DIEGO, CA (BW HealthWire) September 11, 2000

Agreement Gives Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) Exclusive Rights to Distribute Molsoft LLC's ICM Software in Japan Molsoft LLC announced its shipment of the Molsoft BioPackage to Hitachi, Ltd. for distribution in Japan. During the two-year Agreement, which became effective June 1, 2000, Hitachi will be the exclusive distributor of Molsoft's BioPackage in Japan and plans to market the software to Japanese corporations, universities, and laboratories. Molsoft's computer software provides novel computational and informational technologies for biomedicine including genomics and drug discovery.

"We were extremely honored to enter into a Distribution Agreement with Hitachi. Our shipment of the Molsoft BioPackage to Japan marks the exciting expansion of our software into Asia", said Margarita Abagyan, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Molsoft LLC.

Molsoft's BioPackage is recognized by major pharmaceutical companies and research institutes around the world as an exceptional tool for advanced bioinformatics and molecular modeling. "It is Hitachi's distinct pleasure and honor to introduce Molsoft software into Japan. Hopefully, it will become one of the core technologies in bioinformatics service" said Hiroya Taguchi, Chief Executive Officer for Hitachi, Ltd., Life Sciences Group. As part of the Agreement, Hitachi will translate the Molsoft BioPackage manual into Japanese. Hitachi engineers recently trained at Molsoft's facilities in La Jolla and will provide installation, customer training, and continuing technical support of the Molsoft BioPackage in Japan. The Distribution Agreement will be supported through the Hitachi's web site with assistance from Molsoft.

Molsoft is a growing company that is devoted to the development of new software to aid in computational biology, genomics, and drug discovery using the latest and most powerful algorithms to perform complex molecular manipulations and database interactions. The company's headquarters are in La Jolla, California.Molsoft's BioPackage, which consists of multiple modules from Version 2.8 of its ICM software, is used by major organizations worldwide, including the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Foundation; Pharmacia & Upjohn - Sweden and Italy (Molsoft ICM selected in cancer therapeutic area as main platform for biomoleculer modeling); Bristol-Myers Squibb; Smith Kline Beecham- United States and United Kingdom; the National Institutes of Health, Washington, D.C.; Karolinska Institute, Sweden; New York University; and The Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, California. For more information, visit www.molsoft.com.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global companies. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power, industrial equipment, and life sciences technology. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., visit the company's web site at www.hitachi.co.jp.

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements by Hitachi and Molsoft and actual results could differ materially from those described as a result of factors outside of the control of Molsoft or of Hitachi.

CONTACTS:

Molsoft LLC

Crystal Crawford, General Counsel
858/625-2000, ext. 102
E-mail: crystal@molsoft.com

Hitachi, Ltd. Japan

Masanao Sato, Assistant Manager, Public Relations, Corporate Communications
Tele: 81-03-3258-2056 (from the US)
E-mail: masanao_sato@hdq.hitachi.co.jp

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MEDICINE BIOTECHNOLOGY PHARMACEUTICAL

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