St. Louis (October 4, 2001) - Divergence Inc. the nematode genomics company, has received a six-month, $100,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The grant will help fund Divergence's continuing research in nematode control technology.

Divergence's proposal, titled "Target Validation Methods for Nematode Control Agents," was written by Senior Scientist Andrew Kloek, Ph.D. Dr. Kloek will lead the funded research applying the Divergence strategy to parasitic nematodes of humans, livestock and pets.

"This grant serves as a validation of our efforts from an external scientific review panel," said James McCarter, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of Divergence. "Our proposal received outstanding remarks from the panel, reinforcing our confidence in Divergence's scientific approach. In addition, receiving this grant makes us eligible to apply for expanded Phase II funding."

Divergence Inc. is a biotechnology company based in St. Louis, Mo., dedicated to the discovery of highly effective and ecologically sound strategies for agricultural pest control. The company's initial focus is on parasitic nematodes, one of the world's major agricultural pest groups, which cause billions of dollars in damage annually to numerous crops, such as soybeans, cotton, strawberries and bananas. Nematodes also cause widespread disease in animals, including infections such as hookworm and heartworm commonly found in dogs and cats. Nematode-induced human diseases include elephantiasis and African river blindness.

Divergence was founded by Dr. McCarter, who also is Group Leader for Parasitic Nematode Genome Projects at Washington University's Genome Sequencing Center. The chairman of the company's Scientific Advisory Board is Sean Eddy, Ph.D., Goldfarb Endowed Professor of Computational Biology at the Washington University School of Medicine. Divergence uses genomic and bioinformatic strategies to target unique or divergent aspects of nematode physiology that can lead to the development of nematode control methods, which are non-toxic to plant, animal or human hosts as well as to the environment. Divergence is discovering and patenting the use of selected target genes.

For more information on Divergence, visit www.divergence.com.