NAMSA to Acquire Ceetox

Kalamazoo,MI/Northwood,OH May 25, 2005. North American Science Associates, Inc. (NAMSA), a contract research organization based in Northwood, OH, has agreed to acquire CeeTox, Inc., a scientific and medical services company in Kalamazoo, MI. Under the terms of the purchase agreement NAMSA has already acquired 51% of the outstanding shares and will acquire the remaining shares as certain undisclosed milestones are met.

CeeTox, located at the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center in Kalamazoo, provides predictive evaluations of the toxicological properties of chemical and biological substances. NAMSA offers a broad range of safety testing and regulatory compliance services for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.

CeeTox was founded in 2003 and is one of more than two dozen life sciences companies that were formed with scientific talent from Pfizer, Inc., when the company announced that it would be moving the bulk of its research and development efforts out of Kalamazoo. At the time of the company's launch, it received support from Southwest Michigan First, Western Michigan University and its Bioscience Research Commercialization Center (BRCC), the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), and local investors.

The President and CEO of NAMSA, Jeff Blair said, "CeeTox has unique solutions for clients as well as a talented staff. We are excited about the benefits that our mutual customers will receive from this complimentary testing regimen. We anticipate a long and rewarding relationship."

NAMSA's principal focus has been safety and efficacy testing for medical device companies, with a small percentage of the business coming from the pharmaceutical industry. With the acquisition of CeeTox, NAMSA can expand that share of its business focus by leveraging the synergies CeeTox brings to the company, Blair said.

"NAMSA and CeeTox share the same philosophy regarding our clients," Blair said. We believe in saving time to market, reducing client costs and providing the best scientific analysis of data available in the industry."

Commenting on the new ownership, Jim McKim, CeeTox Founding President and CEO said, "I am very pleased by how complimentary CeeTox is with NAMSA. CeeTox is growing rapidly in a highly competitive market. The acquisition by NAMSA provides CeeTox with the tools it needs for future growth. Our products and services represent a new line of business for NAMSA. I am certain we will leverage our new owner relationship and be very successful within their corporate structure."

NAMSA plans to maintain the CeeTox laboratories in the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center, a 58,000 square foot incubator/accelerator for life sciences start up companies, established through a community private and public partnership.

Founded in 1967, NAMSA is headquartered in the Toledo, Ohio and employs more than 300 associates. In addition to CeeTox, it has laboratories in Georgia, California and France as well as sales offices, distributors and sales agents around the globe.