diaDexus, Inc. Adds Two New Directors; Corporate Overview & 3Q Results Webcast Set for November 16, 2010

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- diaDexus, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DDXS), a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of patent-protected in vitro diagnostic products addressing unmet needs in cardiovascular disease, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed two new independent directors, bringing the total number of directors to seven.  Joining the Board are Karen Drexler, who will chair the Compensation Committee, and Andrew Galligan, who will chair the Audit Committee.

Separately, diaDexus said it will host a webcast on Tuesday, November 16 at 1:30 PM EST (10:30 AM PST) to present a corporate overview and discuss its 2010 third quarter financial results. The webcast may be accessed via the company's website at www.diadexus.com/webcast.

Commenting on the new appointments, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Plewman said, "Our two new independent Board members add both financial and commercial expertise in developing and marketing new medical devices and diagnostics. Andrew's career has been focused on strategic finance for life science companies, and in particular, medical devices and diagnostics. Karen adds a commercial dimension having led the company she founded from inception through a successful sale. As we endeavor to grow the business, develop new products and extend our product line, we expect that their experience will complement the expertise already resident on our Board."

Karen Drexler has spent the last 15 years co-founding and building medical device companies, mainly in the diagnostics space.  Karen was President and Chief Executive Officer of Amira Medical, a glucose monitoring company that was sold to Roche in 2001.  She is currently active with CellScape Corporation, Mountain View, CA (Chairperson, co-founder – prenatal diagnostics), Medivoce, Menlo Park, CA (co-founder, President and Board member – patient instructional materials), Orsense, Rehovoth, Israel, (Director – noninvasive patient monitoring) and the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, Princeton University. She is the holder of 11 issued and two pending patents.

Andrew Galligan is currently Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Nevro Corp, a Menlo Park, California–based medical device company with a CE-approved implantable spinal cord stimulation device being commercialized in Europe. Prior to joining Nevro, Andrew held the same position at OOMA  and before that, at Reliant Technologies. He has also held the top financial executive position with Metrika, Corcept Therapeutics, Amira Medical, Molecular Devices and several other medical device companies. Andrew began his career at KPMG.

About diaDexus, Inc. diaDexus, Inc., based in South San Francisco, California, is focused on the development and commercialization of patent-protected in vitro diagnostic products addressing unmet needs in cardiovascular disease. The company's PLAC ELISA Test for Lp-PLA2 is the only blood test cleared by the FDA to aid in assessing risk for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and ischemic stroke associated with atherosclerosis, the #1 and #3 causes of death, respectively, in the United States. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.diaDexus.com

Forward-Looking Statements  

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations and products and other statements that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as "will," "potential", "could," "can," "believe," "intends," "continue," "plans," "expects," "estimates" or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, and entail various known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important factors known to diaDexus that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements include diaDexus'ability to obtain and maintain regulatory clearance for and successfully commercialize our PLAC Test and new diagnostic products, including getting approval to reintroduce our  PLAC TIA product, shipments of which were suspended in May 2010; diaDexus' ability to demonstrate that treatment of individuals based on their Lp-PLA2 levels improves clinical outcomes in prospective clinical studies; the rate of adoption of the PLAC test by doctors and laboratories; the insurance payer community's acceptance of and reimbursement for the PLAC Test; diaDexus' reliance on sole source third party manufacturers to manufacture and supply our main reagent and the PLAC Test; our ability to retain key employees and to attract, retain and motivate other qualified personnel; diaDexus' limited revenue and cash resources; and diaDexus' significant corporate expenses, including expenses associated with being a public company. Additional factors that could cause diaDexus' results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in diaDexus' most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and available at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and diaDexus disclaims any intention and does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE diaDexus, Inc.