THE BUSINESS OF SCIENCE AND THE SCIENCE OF BUSINESS
Now with your indulgence, I want to share some thoughts about how I think Invitrogen should and must transform itself to reach its full potential. Our business is about practicing great science, and in this we intend to remain preeminent. But we must also become adept in the science of great business.

I’m sure you are awestruck, as I am, by what the life science industry has accomplished so far, and excited by the biological discoveries that lie ahead. Researchers around the world have made amazing progress, but the reality is we have only just begun. This reality is what makes Invitrogen’s future so very bright.

Our purpose is to mold an organization uniquely adapted to the mastery of our market and to make Invitrogen a trusted and essential partner in all the scientific endeavors of our customers. This requires a special set of people acting with special patterns of behavior. We call it a growth culture, and we have made it the theme of our annual report to underscore its importance. Historically, many biotechnology companies have taken flight on the strengths of brilliant scientific breakthroughs only to reach a stall in their business growth. In part, the reason may be that the work of scientists can be highly individualistic and tightly focused. And so at Invitrogen we do things differently. We funnel work into teams, build channels of communication across disciplines, and encourage leadership training and mentoring. We intend to demonstrate that the dreams of great scientists can be the lifeline of great business.

We believe measurement and workflow analysis are also critical to our growth culture. Right now we are rapidly implementing both Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing techniques to boost efficiency in all parts of our operations. As investors you’ll be pleased to learn that we have identified enormous opportunities to reduce costs and improve capital utilization. At the same time I want to make sure we follow the dictum to measure everything that must be controlled, but not try to control everything that can be measured. When overdone, as often happens, measurement systems can sap the creativity of employees.

In our view, employees need some elbow room to be productive—and to be happy in their work. I like to call it white space. It means making room for creativity at the fringe and sanctioning some risk-taking. At Invitrogen, every employee in every position has an opportunity to change our future.

Regarding the future, the key to success in our business is anticipating it. As I tell our employees, we need to be three steps ahead of our customers, ready with the products or services they will need to create that next scientific breakthrough. I’m not embarrassed to add that part of all this is having some plain old-fashioned fun. We are totally serious about focusing on the needs of our customers, but by keeping things light within the organization we improve the chances that every idea is a good idea until it’s not.

Finally, and perhaps most important, we come to the ethics and integrity that affect everything we do. Simply put, out goal is to do the right thing regardless of the pressures and temptations to do otherwise. In today’s business environment, solid ethics and sound practices have never been more important. But we believe — and act on this belief — that life science companies should and will be held to an even higher standard because we are dealing with the building blocks of life. It is crucial to our objectives that our reputation for honest dealings remains unquestioned by our customers and the public. I understand fully that such faith in our probity won’t be achieved by pronouncements, but by our performance. I commit to you that it will be so on my watch.

The promise of life science is never far from our thoughts. At Invitrogen, we are dedicated to turning that promise into reality through our vision, innovation, and leadership. In 2004 and beyond, we will continue helping the biotechnology community in its exploration, development, and production of biology-based solutions.

We started in a California garage in 1987 with a dream to improve life science research. Today, we’re a global leader, approaching a billion dollars in revenues, with a broader quest to improve the human condition. Our journey has just begun. Thank you for your continued support and investment.

Sincerely,
Gregory T. Lucier
President and Chief Executive Officer
Invitrogen Corporation