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                                     [LOGO]                        EXHIBIT 10.21
                                    SEQUENOM

                              BETA TEST AGREEMENT

This Agreement, dated March 1, 1999, is made by and between SEQUENOM, Inc., a
corporation with its principal place of business located at 11555 Sorrento
Valley Rd, San Diego, CA, USA, ("Company"), represented by SEQUENOM GmbH, and
GLE Medicon GmbH, with its principal place of business at LornsenstraBe 4-6,
22767 Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany, ("Recipient").

     WHEREAS, Company is willing to supply within the protection of a
confidential relationship, the DNA MassArray(TM) Basic System Plus and related
materials listed on Schedule A attached hereto ("Evaluation Item") to Recipient
solely for evaluating whether to enter in the currently proposed business
arrangement with Company ("Evaluation");

     WHEREAS, Recipient desires to have access to the Evaluation Item and is
aware of the nature of the Evaluation Item, and is willing to enter in a
confidential relationship and to use and test the Evaluation Item and report to
Company on the performance of the Evaluation Item;

     NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the mutual covenants
hereinafter set forth, the parties hereby agree as follows:


     1.   Use of DNA MassArray(TM) Basic System and SpectroChip(TM) License.
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Subject to the terms of this Agreement Company grants to Recipient
*** nonsublicensable, nonexclusive license to use the Evaluation Item *** during
the trem of this Agreement. The Company shall at all times retain all title to
and ownership of the Evaluation Item and all ancillary products thereof.
Recipient agrees to use the Evaluation Item only in the ordinary course of
testing and comparing it's performance against comparable technologies in the
Recipient's facility, and Recipient will not reproduce or modify the Evaluation
Item or any portion thereof. Recipient shall not rent, sell, lease or otherwise
transfer the Evaluation Item or any part thereof or use it for the benefit of a
third party. Recipient shall not reverse assemble, reverse compile or reverse
engineer the Evaluation Item, or otherwise attempt to discover any Evaluation
Item underlying Proprietary Information (as that term is defined below).

     2.   Business Terms. All payments herein are for the use of Company's
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Evaluation Item and the services required for the operation of the Evaluation
Item including training and support.

i.                                     ***
     *** for the Company's Evaluation Item for the first six months after the
INITIATION of the first test.

     After the completion of the initial 6-month Beta-test period the Evaluation
Item cost will be ***

     *** Portions of this page have been omitted pursuant to a request for
Confidential Treatment and filed separately with the Commission.
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ii.     ***    fee during the Beta-site period for all tests performed for
     comparison of Evaluation Item with other DNA analysis methods and with
     results of comparison tests reported to SEQUENOM.

iii. Annual Maintenance Fee that includes Evaluation Item support and Company
     Bioinformatics Workstation updates                 ***
          ***  The incremental Maintenance Fee will be         ***      upon
     delivery of all data necessary to complete each bi-monthly report as
     specified under 4.
                                      *** will be charged if the first
     bi-monthly report should reveal uncompetitive performance in the accuracy
     of the results compared to existing technologies after the first two months
     and the Recipient wishes to terminate this Agreement as a consequence of
     this. All Maintenance Fees paid during the initial 6-month Beta-test period
     will be credited towards the Equipment.

iv.  One Company senior scientist designated for on-site support during the
     Beta-test period to facilitate the technology transfer and SYSTEM start-up.
     Recipient shall provide the Company scientist full access to the Contracted
     Item at the Recipient's facility during regular business hours.

v.   Agreement is contingent on the use of authorized consumables provided from
     Company.

     3.   Confidentiality; Ownership. Recipient acknowledges that, in the course
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of using the Evaluation Item and performing its duties under this Agreement, it
may obtain information relating to the Evaluation Item and/or Company
("Proprietary Information"). Such Proprietary Information shall belong solely to
Company and includes, but, is not limited to, the existence of the Evaluation
Item, its features and mode of operation, this Agreement, trade secrets, know-
how, inventions (whether or not patentable), techniques, processes, programs,
ideas, algorithms, schematics, testing procedures, software design and
architecture, computer code, internal documentation, design and function
specifications, product requirements, problem reports, analysis and performance
information, software documents, and other technical, business, product,
marketing and financial information, plans and data. In regard to this
Proprietary Information:

     (a) Recipient shall not during the term of this Agreement and for a period
     of at least three (3) years after its termination, use (except as expressly
     authorized by this Agreement) or disclose Proprietary Information without
     the prior written consent of Company unless such Proprietary Information
     becomes part of the public domain without breach of this Agreement by
     Recipient, its officers, directors, employees or agents.

     (b) During the period specified in (a) above, Recipient agrees to take all
     reasonable measures to maintain the Proprietary Information and Evaluation
     Item in confidence.

     (c) During the period specified in (a) above, Recipient will disclose the
     Evaluation Item and Proprietary Information only to those of its employees
     and consultants as are necessary for the use expressly and unambiguously
     licensed hereunder, and only after such employees and contractors have
     agreed in writing to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement.
     Recipient shall not, without the prior written consent of Company,


     *** Portions of this page have been omitted pursuant to a request for
Confidential Treatment and filed separately with the Commission.

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     disclose or otherwise make available the Evaluation Item or any ancillary
     products to any third party.

     (d) Recipient hereby assigns to Company any invention, idea or know-how
     (whether or not patentable) that is conceived, learned or reduced to
     practice in the course of performance under this Agreement and any patent
     rights, trade secret rights, mask work rights, sui generis database rights
     and all other intellectual and industrial property rights of any sort with
     respect thereto. Recipient agrees to take any action reasonably requested
     by Company to evidence, perfect, obtain, maintain, enforce or defend the
     foregoing.

     4.   Reports.
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     Company senior scientist, assisted by Recipient, shall provide written
     reports bi-monthly commencing after installation of the Evaluation Item.
     Reports shall disclose:

     (1) which portions of the Evaluation Item have been used, (2) the nature of
     that use, (3) the extent or amount of use, (4) all errors or difficulties
     discovered, (5) suggestions on improving the Evaluation Item, (6) the
     characteristic conditions and symptoms of the errors and difficulties, in
     sufficient detail to allow the Company to recreate the errors and
     difficulties itself, (7) a performance comparison with other available
     systems and methods in use at the Recipients facility, including but not
     limited to, accuracy, time of assay, repeat tests performed and instrument
     down-time, and if possible (8) the amount of financial reimbursement per
     reportable result versus comparable methods of DNA analysis.

     5.   WARRANTY DISCLAIMER.
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The parties acknowledge that the Evaluation Item is for use in a Beta test.
COMPANY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE EVALUATION ITEM, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT OF
THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

     6.   Limitation of Remedies and Damages.
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COMPANY SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE WITH RESPECT TO ANY SUBJECT MATTER OF
THIS AGREEMENT UNDER ANY CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY
(A) FOR LOSS OR INACCURACY OF DATA OR COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS,
SERVICES OR TECHNOLOGY, OR (B) FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF REVENUES AND LOSS OF PROFITS.
COMPANY SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MATTER BEYOND ITS REASONABLE CONTROL.

     7.   Nonassignability. Neither the rights nor the obligations arising under
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this Agreement are assignable or transferable by Recipient, and any such
attempted assignment or transfer shall be void and without effect.

     8.   Execution of Agreement, Controlling Law, Attorneys' Fees and
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Severability. This Agreement shall become effective only upon its execution by
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both Company and Recipient and it

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shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal
Republic of Germany without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions therein.
In any action to enforce this Agreement the prevailing party will be entitled to
costs and attorneys' fees. In the event that any of the provisions of this
Agreement shall be held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction
to be unenforceable, such provisions shall be limited or eliminated to the
minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full
force and effect and enforceable.

     9.   Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement
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between the parties pertaining to the subject matter hereof, and any and all
written or oral agreements previously existing between the parties are expressly
cancelled. Any modifications of this Agreement must be in writing and signed by
both parties.

     10.  Equitable Relief. Recipient acknowledges and agrees that due to the
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unique nature of Company's Proprietary Information, there can be no adequate
remedy at law for any breach of its obligations hereunder, that any such breach
may allow Recipient or third parties to unfairly compete with Company resulting
in irreparable harm to Company, and therefore, that upon any such breach or
threat thereof, Company shall be entitled to injunctions and other appropriate
equitable relief in addition to whatever remedies it may have at law.

     11.  Termination. This Agreement may be terminated (1) by Company without
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cause with twenty-one (21) days' written notice to the Recipient at the address
listed above, (2) by Recipient if the first bi-monthly report should reveal
uncompetitive performance in accuracy of the system compared to existing
technologies after the first two months and the Recipient wishes to terminate
this Agreement as a consequence of this, or (3) immediately upon notice of any
breach by Recipient of the provisions of this Agreement, and (4) in any case
will terminate six (6) months after the initiation of the first reportable test
at the Recipient's facility. Company and Recipient will enter into good faith
discussions sixty (60) days prior to the termination of the Beta Site Agreement
to negotiate a full DNA MassArray(TM) license Agreement. If no full license
Agreement has been established upon termination, the license granted hereunder
shall terminate and Recipient shall immediately return the Evaluation Item,
together with any and all documents, notes and other materials regarding the
Evaluation Item to Company, including, without limitation, all Proprietary
Information and all copies and extracts of the foregoing, but the terms of this
Agreement will otherwise remain in effect.

     12.  PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS. Any announcements or similar publicity with
respect tthe execution of this Agreement shall be agreed upon between the
Parties in advance of such announcement, with such approval not unreasonable
withheld. Both Parties understand that this Agreement is likely to be of
interest to investors, analysts and others, and that the Parties therefore may
make such public announcements with respect thereto. The Parties agree that any
such announcement will not contain confidential business or technical
information and, if disclosure of confidential business or technical information
is required by law or regulation, will make reasonable efforts to minimize such
disclosure and obtain confidential treatment for any such information which is
disclosed to a governmental agency or group. Each Party agrees to



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provide to the other Parties a copy of any public announcement as soon as
reasonably practicable under the circumstances prior to its scheduled release.
Except under extraordinary circumstances, each Party shall provide the other
with an advance copy of any press release at least five (5) business days prior
to the scheduled disclosure. Each Party shall have the right to expeditiously
review and recommend changes to any announcement regarding this Agreement or the
subject matter of this Agreement. Except as otherwise required by law, the Party
whose press release has been reviewed shall remove any information the reviewing
Party reasonably deems to be inappropriate for disclosure.


SEQUENOM, GmbH.                       GLE Medicon GmbH & Co

By   /s/ - Dr. Warsten Schmidt        By   /s/ Oliver Gotz
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Name (Print) Dr. Warsten Schmidt      Name (Print): Dr. Oliver Gotz
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Title: Managing Director              Title: Managing Director
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Confidential
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                                  Schedule A


DNA MassArray(TM) Basic System Plus Evaluation Items include:

     .    High-speed Bruker/SEQUENOM Array Mass Spectrometer
     .    GeSIM/SEQUENOM Monocharnel Nanoplotter
     .    SEQUENOM BioMASS Informatics Workstation
     .    Beckman Multimek(TM) Instrument with SEQUENOM magnetic lifters

vi.  The SEQUENOM 96 D SpectroChip(TM) will be made available *** during the
     Beta test period for all tests that are performed for comparison of DNA
     MassArray(TM) performance with other DNA analysis methods with result
     reported to SEQUENOM. For all samples being analyzed using DNA
     MassArray(TM) for routine laboratory testing (without a performance report
     to SEQUENOM) a price of *** . An "Element" represents one BiomassPROBE
     reaction unit (Patent US 5,605,798) on Company's SpectroChip(TM) and
     includes the reaction unit and reagents necessary to characterize a PCR
     product for SNP analysis.

     *** Portions of this page have been omitted pursuant to a request for
Confidential Treatment and filed separately with the Commission.

Confidential

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