Surfing Leads to Medical Breakthrough; Ambry Genetics & Newport Surf Camp Team Up to Get Children with Cystic Fibrosis Surfing

April 28, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ambry Genetics
1 Enterprise
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

Aliso Viejo, CA, April 28, 2007 - Specialists who treat children with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) have realized what we surfers already knew - that the ocean cleans out our system. Patients in Australia reported feeling significantly better after surfing. Medical scientists and physicians have turned this observation into a new medical treatment for CF called Hypertonic Saline Therapy. Children with Cystic Fibrosis live with what is similar to a permanent sinus and chest cold, among other symptoms. Surfing, a natural way to get salt and moisture in the lungs, can help improve these symptoms.

Cystic Fibrosis is a life-shortening genetic disease affecting about 30,000 people in the U.S. The life expectancy of CF patients has risen dramatically in the last two decade from about 9 years of age to about 37 with modern treatments. Hypertonic Saline Therapy is among the newest treatment options making a significant difference in patient quality of life and potentially increasing lifespan.

Event organizer James Dunlop from Ambry Genetics explains: "Every time a child with CF gets in the water, it helps clear out their nasal passages and airway. That cuts down on infections, hospitalizations, and slows down the rate of permanent lung damage, potentially increasing overall lifespan and health. We want to take this great new treatment back to its roots of exercise and ocean air by getting the children with Cystic Fibrosis into the water in a surf school."

Ambry Genetics has teamed with Newport Surf Camp to provide the Breath of Fresh Air Surf Day, a free surf clinic for children with CF, to help spread the word about this natural and fun way to feel better. This event will be held on May 20th in Newport Beach. Any children with Cystic Fibrosis who get consent from their pulmonologist and parents will be eligible. Says Todd Elder of Newport Surf Camp, "Surfing has always been good for the soul. Now, to be able to share it with kids that have CF, and knowing that it can emotionally and physically treat this disease is very rewarding."

Ambry Genetics founder and CEO ,Charles Dunlop, explains: "Being a life-long surfer, when I heard about the surfer patients in Australia reporting cleared out airways after surf sessions, I simply had to get some of the local kids with CF out in the lineup. It struck me that surfing can be more than a spiritual thing for them; it might have actually have medicinal application, with solid science behind it. Thankfully James and Todd immediately saw the same thing and made all of this possible." For more information on the Breath of Fresh Air Surf Day please contact James Dunlop at Ambry Genetics or Todd Elder at Newport Surf Camp.

Ambry Genetics' James Dunlop and his brother Charles Dunlop have life-long involvement in the surfing world and share a deep commitment to those affected by CF. Ambry Genetics was a trailblazer in developing a diagnostic test that sequences the whole Cystic Fibrosis gene and Ambry now has more experience with this process than any other lab. Ambry continues to be a primary clinical and informational resource to the CF community.