Covington Associates Advises Inverness Medical Innovations on the Signing of aDefinitive Agreement to Acquire Applied Biotech, Inc. from Apogent Technologies, Inc.

Acquisition enhances Inverness’ Position in the Point-of-Care Diagnostics Market

Boston, MA — July 31, 2003 — Covington Associates, seasoned M&A advisors to technology and healthcare, today announced that its client, Waltham-based Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc., (“Inverness”), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Applied Biotech, Inc., a unit of Apogent Technologies, Inc.  Applied Biotech, Inc. is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of rapid diagnostic products in the areas of women’s health, infectious disease and drugs of abuse testing.  Under the terms of the agreement, Inverness will acquire all of the stock of Applied Biotech in exchange for 692,506 shares of its common stock and additional consideration of either a payment or $13.4 million in cash at the closing of the acquisition, or a payment of $5 million in cash at the closing of the acquisition and a one-year $8.4 subordinated promissory note.  The Inverness shares will be issued in a private placement at the closing of the acquisition, and Inverness has agreed to register the shares for resale following the closing.  The transaction is expected to close in late August.

The acquisition further enhances Inverness’ intellectual property and capabilities within rapid diagnostic testing in the US market.  In a previously issued statement, Ron Zwanziger, CEO of Inverness Medical Innovations said, “The addition of Applied Biotech is a continuation of our efforts towards establishing a preeminent position in the field of point-of-care diagnostics.  We expect to benefit from product and distribution synergies with our Wampole business and, post-integration, the acquisition is likely to be accretive to earnings.”

Speaking on behalf of Covington Associates, Tom Cibotti, partner in the firm, said “Covington Associates continues to enjoy its advisory partnership with Inverness and its CEO Ron Zwanziger as the company works to expand its intellectual property platform and bring innovative products to the market.  This newest transaction acts as a great complement to Wampole Laboratories and highlights Inverness’ commitment to aggressive growth in the diagnostics arena.”

About Inverness Medical Innovations

Inverness Medical Innovations, headquartered in Waltham, MA, manufactures and sells products for the women’s health market, and is engaged in the business of developing, acquiring, manufacturing, and marketing advanced medical device technologies. The Company is presently exploring new opportunities for its proprietary electrochemical and other technologies in a variety of consumer oriented applications including immuno-diagnostics with a focus on women’s health and cardiology.  The Company’s women’s health and nutritional products are distributed to consumers through established retail distribution networks such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS.

About Covington Associates

Covington Associates are seasoned M&A advisors to technology and healthcare. Focused exclusively on mergers and acquisitions, Covington Associates has established a track record of success based on deep domain experience and an unrivaled level of service from a team of senior advisors. Since 1991, the firm has successfully completed over 50 transactions ranging in size from $10 million to over $1 billion in e-services, software, IT services, and healthcare technologies. To learn more about Covington Associates, visit www.covingtonassociates.com.