TECHNE CORPORATION RELEASES UNAUDITED FOURTH QUARTER AND TWELVE MONTH RESULTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000

For the three months ended June 30, 2000, TECHNE’s consolidated net income increased 70% to $8,520,957, or 40 cents per share (diluted), compared with $5,007,316 or 24 cents (diluted) in the fourth quarter of last year. The improvement in earnings was primarily the result of increased sales and, to a lesser extent, increased gross margins. For the three months ended June 30, 2000, TECHNE’s consolidated sales were a record $27,313,357, an increase of $3,001,166 or 12% from the fourth quarter of last year. R&D Systems’ Biotechnology Division net sales increased 14% to $17,038,127 from $14,963,227 and R&D Europe’s net sales increased 7% to $6,227,630 from $5,819,845. R&D Systems’ Hematology Division net sales increased 15% to $4,047,600 from $3,529,119.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2000, TECHNE’s consolidated net income increased 60% to $26,582,797, or $1.26 per share (diluted), compared with $16,656,010 or $.81 per share (diluted) in fiscal 1999. The improvement in earnings was also primarily the result of increased sales and gross margins. For the year ended June 30, 2000, TECHNE’s consolidated sales were $103,838,155, an increase of $12,937,458 or 14% from last year. R&D Systems’ Biotechnology Division net sales increased 17% to $64,230,320 from $54,960,816 and R&D Europe’s net sales increased 12% to $26,032,372 from $23,266,337. R&D Systems’ Hematology Division net sales also increased 7% to $13,575,463 from $12,673,544.

In addition to the increased sales, gross margins as a percent of sales also increased from 70% to 77% for the quarter and from 70% to 74% for the year ended June 30, 2000. Margins last year were affected by the higher cost of inventory acquired from Genzyme Corporation, the majority of which was sold in fiscal 1999 and the first half of fiscal 2000. Research and development expenses decreased from last year as a result of research grant money received by ChemoCentryx Inc., a technology and drug development company in which TECHNE has invested. Excluding ChemoCentryx, research and development expenses increased $297,000 for the quarter and $1,253,000 for fiscal 2000.

Statements in this earnings release which look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties which may affect the actual results of operations. The following important factors, among others, have affected and, in the future, could affect the Company’s actual results: the introduction and acceptance of new biotechnology and hematology products, the levels and particular directions of research into cytokines by the Company’s customers, the impact of the growing number of producers of cytokine research products and related price competition, the retention of hematology OEM and proficiency survey business, the Company’s expansion of marketing efforts in Europe, and the costs and results of research and product development efforts of the Company and of companies in which the Company has invested or with which it has formed strategic relationships.

TECHNE Corporation has two operating subsidiaries: Research and Diagnostic Systems, Inc. (R&D Systems) of Minneapolis, Minnesota and R&D Systems Europe, Ltd. (R&D Europe) of Abingdon, England. R&D Systems is a specialty manufacturer of biological products and R&D Europe is a distributor of biotechnology products.