Gen-Probe’s performance in 2006 was characterized by innovation in new product development and execution in our core clinical diagnostics and blood screening businesses, which together give us optimism for the future. The Company’s strong 2006 financial results demonstrated the value our employees and products deliver to customers. On the top line, product sales increased by 20% to $325.3 million. As a result, total revenues grew 16% to $354.8 million. On the bottom line, including the effects of stock-based compensation under SFAS No. 123(R), net income in 2006 totaled $59.5 million, 17% of revenues, and earnings per diluted share (EPS) were $1.12. The implementation of SFAS No. 123(R) in 2006 reduced net income by $13.6 million, and EPS by approximately $0.26. Therefore, excluding only the effects of SFAS No. 123(R), non- GAAP net income increased 22% to $73.1 million, while non-GAAP EPS rose 19% to $1.37. We achieved robust profitability in 2006 while investing, on a GAAP basis, 24% of total revenues in innovative research and development (R&D), roughly double the industry average. Our R&D investment generated good returns in 2006, as we earned seven US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearances and launched 11 new products, many of which we believe provide first- or best-in-class attributes. In addition, the growth we enjoyed in 2006 came from new products that we developed in recent years. For example, the success of our APTIMA Combo 2 assay, which simultaneously detects the two most common bacterial sexually transmitted diseases, chlamydia and gonorrhea, drove a 21% increase in overall clinical diagnostics sales in 2006. APTIMA sales increased due to several factors. First, independent studies demonstrated the superior performance of our test versus competition. Second, we gained market share based on the advantages of running our assay on the TIGRIS system, the first fully automated, high-throughput molecular diagnostics instrument. Third, testing increased from non-invasive sample types, such as urine, vaginal swabs and liquid Pap specimens. And fourth, customer adoption outside the United States grew briskly. In blood screening, our 19% sales increase was driven by three innovative new products. First, the PROCLEIX ULTRIO assay, which simultaneously detects HIV-1, hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus (HBV), continued to penetrate international markets. Second, the number of TIGRIS systems installed at blood screening centers around the world increased substantially. And third, US customers using our semi-automated instrument system began paying a commercial price for the PROCLEIX WNV (West Nile virus) assay after it was approved by the FDA in December of 2005. Customers who test for WNV using our fully automated TIGRIS system will begin paying a commercial price in 2007, following the March FDA approval of that unique platform. During 2006, the FDA also cleared for marketing our PROCLEIX ULTRIO assay in the United States. However, the FDA did not approve the test to screen donated blood for HBV, because our pivotal clinical study was not designed to, and did not, detect HBV “yield,” defined as HBV-infected blood donations that were intercepted only by our test. To detect HBV yield and secure the desired donor-screening claim, we intend to initiate a post-marketing study of our test in 2007, which we believe will facilitate sales growth in 2008. I am proud of the way our employees executed in 2006 to create value for our clinical diagnostics and blood screening customers. But I’m equally impressed with the way they innovated to generate future growth in new, commercially attractive markets where we believe our technologies will provide competitive advantage. For example, we achieved two major milestones in our PCA3 program in 2006. As a reminder, PCA3 is a gene that is highly over-expressed only in cancerous prostate tissue. In 2006 we introduced analyte specific reagents that specialized US lab customers can use to develop their own tests for PCA3, thereby building awareness of the biomarker. In addition, late in the year we launched our commercial PCA3 product — PROGENSA — in the European Union. During 2007, we intend to make a strategic decision on whether to develop a combination test for prostate cancer that incorporates other proprietary biomarkers as well as PCA3. We also made important progress in our industrial development programs during 2006. For instance, customers of our first two industrial partners, General Electric and Millipore, conducted initial studies of our prototype assays during 2006, with encouraging results. These assays are used to detect microbial contamination in industrial water and in biopharmaceutical production processes, respectively. We also formed a third collaboration, with 3M, to develop and commercialize rapid molecular tests for contaminated food, a problem that garnered increased regulatory and media attention during 2006. Finally, we continued to advance development of our test for human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer. The promising initial data we collected during 2006 lead us to believe that an HPV test will be an important longterm growth driver for the Company. So in summary, 2006 was a very good year for Gen-Probe, as our approximately 1,000 employees executed in the near-term and innovated for the long-term. I appreciate their hard work and dedication, as well as the support of our loyal stockholders, as we strive for more successes in 2007 and beyond. Sincerely,