Exhibit 99.1

Contact:

Michael Watts

Vice president, investor relations and

corporate communications

858-410-8673

For Immediate Release

Gen-Probe Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter of 2011

– Total Revenues Establish New Quarterly Record of $158.2 Million, Up 16% –

– Non-GAAP Earnings Per Share Set New High of $0.72, Up 18%,

While GAAP Earnings Per Share Total $0.42 –

SAN DIEGO, CA, February 13, 2012 — Gen-Probe Incorporated (NASDAQ: GPRO) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011. Total revenues in the quarter grew 16%, to a new record of $158.2 million, while non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) increased 18%, to a new high of $0.72.

“Gen-Probe finished 2011 strong, as blood screening sales rebounded in the fourth quarter while clinical diagnostics revenues continued their solid growth,” said Carl Hull, the Company’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We enter 2012 with excellent momentum based on several new product launches that are off to good starts.”

Key financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011 were ($ in millions, except EPS):

Gen-Probe’s GAAP results for the fourth quarter of 2011 were negatively affected by impairment charges of $12.7 million related to acquired goodwill and intangible assets.

Revenue Detail

In the fourth quarter of 2011, clinical diagnostics product sales grew by 13% compared to the prior year period. This increase was driven primarily by domestic and international growth of the APTIMA Combo 2^® assay for detecting Chlamydia and gonorrhea, and by the inclusion of sales from the former GTI Diagnostics (GTI), which the Company acquired in December of 2010. Foreign currency fluctuations reduced clinical diagnostics sales by an estimated $0.1 million compared to the prior year period.

In blood screening, fourth-quarter sales increased by 30% compared to the prior year period, as expected, mainly due to greater shipments of assays and TIGRIS^® instruments to Novartis, the Company’s blood screening collaboration partner. Foreign currency fluctuations increased blood screening sales by an estimated $0.2 million compared to the prior year period.

Sales of research products and services in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $2.4 million, down 29% compared to the prior year period. Foreign currency fluctuations had an immaterial effect on sales of research products and services compared to the prior year period.

Fourth quarter product sales were ($ in millions):

Collaborative research revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $1.4 million, compared to $3.7 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 62% that resulted primarily from an expected decrease in funding from Novartis associated with the development of the fully automated PANTHER^® instrument for the blood screening market. The PANTHER system remains on track to be launched into international blood screening markets this year.

Royalty and license revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $1.6 million, compared to $1.9 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 16%.

GAAP Income Statement Details

Gross margin on product sales was 66.7% in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 69.4% in the prior year period. This decrease resulted mainly from higher sales of low-margin instrumentation to Novartis, which are generally a precursor to future assay sales.

Acquisition-related amortization expenses were $2.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to $2.2 million in the prior year period, an increase of 27% that resulted mainly from the acquisition of GTI.

Research and development (R&D) expenses were $28.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to $26.9 million in the prior year period, an increase of 5% that resulted primarily from the addition of GTI’s R&D programs.

Marketing and sales expenses were $17.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to $15.0 million in the prior year period, an increase of 14% that resulted primarily from the addition of GTI’s cost structure and ongoing European commercial expansion.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $16.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to $15.6 million in the prior year period, an increase of 4% that resulted mainly from the addition of GTI’s cost structure.

Goodwill and asset impairment charges totaled $12.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Of this charge, $8.7 million related to goodwill associated with the Company’s research products and services business, which was acquired as part of the Tepnel acquisition in April of 2009, and $4.0 million related to in-process research and development intangible assets of GTI.

Total other income, net, was $0.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to total other income, net, of $1.2 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 67%. This decrease resulted primarily from a non-cash gain in the prior year period and unfavorable exchange rate effects.

Income tax expense was $10.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, corresponding to an effective tax rate of 33%.

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Non-GAAP Income Statement Details

In the fourth quarter of 2011, non-GAAP gross margin on product sales, R&D expenses, marketing and sales expenses, and total other income, net, were similar to the corresponding GAAP results.

Excluding transaction-related expenses and restructuring costs, non-GAAP G&A expenses were $15.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to $14.7 million in the prior year period, an increase of 6%.

Non-GAAP income tax expense was $12.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, corresponding to an effective tax rate of 27%. Income tax expense was less than expected in the fourth quarter due to the utilization of foreign losses and higher ex-US sales.

Cash Flows and Balance Sheet

In the fourth quarter of 2011, Gen-Probe generated net cash of $53.4 million from operating activities, and spent $7.2 million on property, plant and equipment, leading to free cash flow of $46.2 million, a new quarterly record.

Gen-Probe continues to maintain a strong balance sheet. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had $368.0 million of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, and $248.0 million of short-term debt. The Company pays interest on this debt at a rate 0.6% above the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which was recently below 0.3%.

During the fourth quarter of 2011, Gen-Probe repurchased 1.7 million shares of Company stock for $100 million, corresponding to an average purchase price of $58.83 per share. This completed the $100 million repurchase plan that was announced in November of 2011.

2012 Financial Guidance

“We anticipate returning to low double-digit organic revenue growth in 2012 based on multiple new product launches that are still in their early stages,” said Herm Rosenman, Gen-Probe’s senior vice president, finance, and chief financial officer. “We forecast a similar rate of bottom-line growth in 2012 as we invest in these launches and in a series of R&D projects that extend our lead in assay and instrument performance. We believe that these investments position us well for solid, sustainable growth over the next several years.”

Gen-Probe’s 2012 financial guidance is provided below:

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About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Gen-Probe’s management believes that non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding the Company’s performance by excluding certain expenses and other items that may not be indicative of core business results. To supplement the Company’s financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011 and its 2012 financial guidance, in each case presented in accordance with GAAP, Gen-Probe uses the following financial measures defined as non-GAAP by the SEC: non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP R&D expenses, non-GAAP marketing and sales expenses, non-GAAP G&A expenses, non-GAAP operating profit, non-GAAP income tax rate, and non-GAAP EPS. Gen-Probe’s management does not, nor does it suggest that investors should, consider such non-GAAP financial measures in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Gen-Probe believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing Gen-Probe’s performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management’s internal comparisons to Gen-Probe’s historical performance and our competitors’ operating results. Gen-Probe believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision making. Further, our reconciliations of non-GAAP to GAAP operating results, which are included on the attached tables, are presented in the format of consolidated statements of income solely to assist a reader in understanding the impact of the various adjustments to our GAAP operating results, individually and in the aggregate, and are not intended to place any undue prominence on our non-GAAP operating results.

Notes on Presentation

In this news release, all per share amounts are calculated on a diluted basis. Some totals may not foot due to rounding. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.

Webcast Conference Call

A live webcast of Gen-Probe’s fourth quarter 2011 conference call for investors can be accessed at http://www.gen-probe.com beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time today. The webcast will be archived for at least 90 days. A telephone replay of the call also will be available for approximately 24 hours. Call 866-501-7043 (domestic) or 203-369-1846 (international).

About Gen-Probe

Gen-Probe is a global leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of rapid, accurate and cost-effective molecular diagnostic products and services that are used primarily to diagnose human diseases, screen donated human blood, and ensure transplant compatibility. Gen-Probe is headquartered in San Diego and employs approximately 1,400 people. For more information, go to www.gen-probe.com.

Trademarks

APTIMA, APTIMA COMBO 2, PANTHER and TIGRIS are trademarks of Gen-Probe. All other trademarks are the property of their owners.

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Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this news release about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance, including those under the heading “2012 Financial Guidance,” are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as believe, will, expect, anticipate, estimate, intend, plan and would. For example, statements concerning Gen-Probe’s financial condition, possible or expected results of operations, the development and commercialization of new products, regulatory approvals, future milestones, growth opportunities, market trends, and management plans are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Some of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions include but are not limited to: (i) the risk that we may not achieve our expected 2012 financial targets, (ii) the risk that we may not integrate acquisitions, such as Tepnel, Prodesse and GTI, successfully, (iii) the possibility that the market for the sale of our new products, such as our PANTHER system and PROGENSA PCA3, APTIMA HPV and APTIMA trichomonas assays, may not develop as expected, (iv) the enhancement of existing products and the development of new products may not proceed as planned, (v) the risk that investigational products, including those now in US clinical trials, may not be approved by regulatory authorities or become commercially available in the time frame we anticipate, or at all, (vi) the risk that we may not be able to compete effectively, (vii) the risk that we may not be able to maintain our current corporate collaborations or enter into new ones, (viii) our dependence on Novartis and other third parties for the distribution of some of our products, (ix) our dependence on a small number of customers, contract manufacturers and single source suppliers of raw materials, (x) changes in third-party reimbursement policies regarding our products could adversely affect sales, (xi) changes in government regulation or tax policy affecting our diagnostic products could harm our sales, increase our development costs or increase our taxes, (xii) the risk that our intellectual property may be infringed or invalidated, and (xiii) our involvement in patent and other intellectual property and commercial litigation could be expensive and could divert management’s attention. This list includes some, but not all, of the factors that could affect our ability to achieve results described in forward-looking statements. For additional information about risks and uncertainties we face and a discussion of our financial statements and footnotes, see documents we file with the SEC, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and all subsequent periodic reports. We assume no obligation and expressly disclaim any duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent events.

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Gen-Probe Incorporated

Consolidated Balance Sheets—GAAP

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

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Gen-Probe Incorporated

Consolidated Statements of Income—GAAP

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

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Gen-Probe Incorporated

Consolidated Statements of Income – Non-GAAP Reconciliations

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

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Gen-Probe Incorporated

Consolidated Statements of Income – Non-GAAP Reconciliations

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

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Gen-Probe Incorporated

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows – GAAP

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)