DPC's IMMULITE^® 2500 SMS Immunoassay System Now Available

LOS ANGELES June 15, 2004—Diagnostic Products Corporation (NYSE - DP) is very pleased to announce the worldwide launch of the newest member in the IMMULITE^® family of systems, the IMMULITE 2500 SMS immunoassay system. This system, built on the strong attributes of the IMMULITE 2000, provides improved STAT testing capability with Logic Driven Incubation (LDIä) and improved productivity with DPC's Sample Management System (SMS).

Designed for use by clinical laboratories worldwide and offering the world's largest immunoassay menu, the IMMULITE 2500 SMS provides solutions in areas such as STAT cardiac, routine, esoteric, infectious disease, and allergy testing. With LDI technology, the system is able to process assays with different incubation times simultaneously. The SMS component increases productivity by providing no-pause sample loading and unloading for up to 200 samples. Additionally, the SMS allows the system to link to any open laboratory automation solution, and will soon accommodate other vendors' instrument racks. The IMMULITE 2500 SMS comes equipped with DPC's RealTime Solutions™, an innovative and cost-effective Internet-based service support program unique to DPC.

"The launch of the IMMULITE 2500 SMS is a major development for both DPC and our customers," said Michael Ziering, President and Chief Executive Officer, DPC. "Currently, approximately 3,000 IMMULITE 2000 systems are serving the needs of many laboratories worldwide in a variety of testing environments. With the IMMULITE 2500 SMS, DPC can now offer true STAT testing capability to the clinical laboratory market. The SMS component offers even more flexibility in processing immunoassay tests, and will increase productivity and usable operator walk-away time for other duties in the lab. The SMS will soon be able to link to any open track-based laboratory automation. Software is being developed for the SMS so that it can be configured to link two IMMULITE 2500 or IMMULITE 2000 systems together in what we call an Immunoassay Workcell, all of which gives our customers the flexibility they need. The addition of the IMMULITE 2500 SMS to our family of immunoassay testing systems allows DPC to meet the needs of any size laboratory."

The IMMULITE family of products offers customers a solution to their immunoassay testing needs, whether they are large reference labs, hospital labs or physician office labs. The extensive breadth of the test menu, the ease of use and reliability of the IMMULITE systems have made them widely accepted throughout the world. For more information on the automated chemiluminescent IMMULITE immunoassay systems, please call toll-free 800.444.5757, fax 310.645.9999 or e-mail info@dpconline.com.

Founded in 1971, Diagnostic Products Corporation (DPC) is the global leader dedicated exclusively to immunodiagnostic testing. The Company's product menu includes over 400 automated and nonautomated tests to measure microorganisms, hormones, drugs and other medically important substances present at infinitesimal concentrations in body fluids and tissues. DPC also designs and manufactures automated laboratory instrumentation, which provides fast, accurate results while reducing labor and reagent costs. DPC sells its products to hospitals, clinics and laboratories domestically and in over 100 other countries. Additional Company information can be found on DPC's website at www.dpcweb.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These factors include the effects of governmental or other actions relating to the FDA's decision that its Application Integrity Policy should be applied to the Company or relating to the Company's Chinese affiliate; the rate of customer demand for the Company's products; the Company's ability to successfully market new and existing products; its dependence on certain suppliers; domestic and foreign government regulation; its ability to keep abreast of technological innovations and to translate them into new products; competition; political and economic instability in certain markets including the movements of foreign currencies relative to the dollar; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports and filings.