ZYMOGENETICS HISTORY

ZymoGenetics, Inc. was founded in 1981 by three noted university professors: Earl W. Davie, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Washington; Benjamin D. Hall, Professor of Genetics at the University of Washington; and the late Michael Smith, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of British Columbia and 1993 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

ZymoGenetics' early focus on the development of production systems for recombinant proteins led to a 1982 collaboration with Novo Nordisk A/S, a Danish company, for the production of recombinant human insulin in yeast. In 1988, Novo Nordisk acquired ZymoGenetics and the Company became a wholly owned subsidiary. For 12 years, ZymoGenetics served as the primary U.S. discovery arm of Novo Nordisk, contributing to the development of several of Novo Nordisk's current products.

In November 2000, under the leadership of Dr. Bruce Carter, President and CEO, ZymoGenetics was reestablished as an independent biotechnology company, raising $150 million in a private placement financing. Subsequently, ZymoGenetics completed an initial public offering, and on February 1, 2002, began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol ZGEN.

Today, ZymoGenetics is one of the largest biotechnology companies in Washington State with over 500 employees. The Company's corporate headquarters, including its research and development facilities, are located on the south shore of Lake Union, in Seattle. In October 2002, ZymoGenetics completed a sale and leaseback of its corporate headquarters buildings, raising approximately $52 million. In addition to occupying the historic Lake Union Steam Plant building, and the adjacent Earl Davie Building, the Company, in partnership with its landlord, built additional research and development space as part of a 45,000 square foot expansion of the Earl Davie Building. The Earl Davie Building II expansion was completed in June 2004. ZymoGenetics now occupies approximately 200,000 square feet of laboratory and office space.