Applied DNA Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results -Submits Drug Master File to FDA for Administrative Review- -Signs $2.5 Million in Non-Textile Contracts- -Company to Hold Conference Call and Webcast Toda

Applied DNA Reports Fiscal Second Quarter

2018 Financial Results

-Submits Drug Master File to FDA for

Administrative Review-

-Signs $2.5 Million in Non-Textile Contracts-

-Company to Hold Conference Call and

Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 4:30 PM ET-

STONY BROOK, N.Y. - May

3, 2018 - Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN) ("Applied DNA" or the "Company"), announced financial

results for the fiscal 2018 second quarter ended March 31, 2018.

"Our fiscal second quarter performance

reflects our continuing ability to monetize our molecular taggant technology platform to drive top-line growth while also

progressing nascent opportunities that offer a path to greater annual recurring revenues," stated Dr. James A. Hayward, chairman,

president and CEO of Applied DNA. "Our activities in the quarter reflect the growing applicability of our technology platform

to multiple business verticals and its continued adoption that is fueling an expansion of our pipeline of revenue opportunities.

During the quarter we continued to grow our business while controlling costs and have reduced our monthly burn by 6% on average

since the beginning of the fiscal year."

"This fiscal quarter saw the

largest non-textile/non-governmental deal flow in the Company's history with the signing of multiple pre-commercial contracts

worth approximately $2.5 million in their aggregate over their terms. We secured a pre-commercial contract with TheraCann International

Benchmark Corporation ("TheraCann") to develop molecular tracking systems for legal cannabis worldwide. We signed

definitive agreements that include milestone and royalty payments with Colorcon, Inc. ("Colorcon") that will enable

us to penetrate the global pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industry.

Continued Dr. Hayward, "Our Colorcon

agreements are particularly noteworthy as they give us the opportunity to accelerate revenue from the pharmaceutical industry.

We can now leverage Colorcon's significant sales presence globally to access the worldwide pharmaceutical and nutraceutical

market for solid oral dose tablets. With Colorcon, together with our partnership with Videojet, and supplemented by the recent

signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with ACG for the marking of oral dose capsules, we can offer what we believe to be the

first multi-layered supply chain traceability and security solution for the industry at a time when pharmaceutical manufacturers

and other supply chain stakeholders are moving to comply with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Drug Supply Chain

Security Act and its November 2018 serialization enforcement deadline."

Concluded, Dr. Hayward, "Looking

ahead to the second-half of the fiscal year, we believe the seasonality inherent in our cotton business should catalyze revenue

as we expect to deliver taggant to mark U.S. cotton under our multi-year supply agreement. Longer term, we believe our business

development and pre-commercial activities create revenue opportunity across several markets. In particular, we see substantial

opportunities in synthetic textiles, where the total addressable market is seven times greater than the cotton market, and biopharma,

where we believe our ability to quickly manufacture ultra-pure DNA in bulk can be a game-changer for the industry. We have recently

demonstrated the ability to use our linear DNA in transfection models that may allow for commercial expression of repaired or improved

genes in humans, animals and plants, resolving what we believe to be one of the most significant hurdles slowing the implementation

of DNA vaccines, gene therapy and personalized medicine - the availability of large-scale linear DNA as an alternative to

less desirable plasmid DNA. "

Fiscal Second Quarter Financial

Six-Month Financial Highlights:

Recent Operational Highlights:

As part of the agreements, Applied

DNA will supply taggant and authentication materials to Colorcon in exchange for milestone payments and long-term royalties on

the sale of Colorcon products incorporating the Company's molecular tags and on the sale of related authentication services.

The first of two milestone payments was paid to Applied DNA just subsequent to the signing of the Agreements with the second milestone

payment due upon initial approval by a regulatory authority for application in a solid oral dose pharmaceutical or nutraceutical

Fiscal Second Quarter 2018 Conference Call Information

The Company will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss

its fiscal second quarter 2018 results on Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 4:30 PM ET. To participate on the conference call, please

follow the instructions below. While every attempt will be made to answer investors' questions on the Q&A portion of

the call, due to the large number of expected participants, not all questions may be answered.

Live webcast: https://services.choruscall.com/links/apdn180503.html

Replay (available 1 hour following the conclusion of the

live call through May 4, 2018):

Information about Non-GAAP Financial Measures

As used herein, "GAAP" refers to accounting principles

generally accepted in the United States of America. To supplement our condensed consolidated financial statements prepared and

presented in accordance with GAAP, this earnings release includes Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure as defined

in Rule 101 of Regulation G promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a

numerical measure of a company's historical or future performance, financial position, or cash flows that either excludes

or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented

in accordance with GAAP. The presentation of this non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation

or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. We use this non-GAAP financial

measure for internal financial and operational decision making purposes and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons

of the performance and results of operations of our core business. Our management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures

provide meaningful supplemental information regarding the performance of our business by excluding non-cash expenses that may not

be indicative of our recurring operating results. We believe this non-GAAP financial measure is useful to investors as they allow

for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making.

"EBITDA"- is defined as earnings (loss) before interest

expense, income tax expense and depreciation and amortization expense.

"Adjusted EBITDA"- is defined as EBITDA adjusted

to exclude (i) stock-based compensation and (ii) other non-cash expenses.

About Applied DNA Sciences

Applied DNA is a provider of molecular technologies that enable

supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology, product genotyping and DNA mass production for diagnostics,

personalized medicine and therapeutics.

Applied DNA makes life real and safe by providing innovative,

molecular-based technology solutions and services that can help protect products, brands, entire supply chains, and intellectual

property of companies, governments and consumers from theft, counterfeiting, fraud and diversion. The proprietary DNA-based "CertainT "

platform can be used to identify, tag, test, and track products, to help assure authenticity, origin, traceability, sustainability

and quality of products.

SigNature DNA describes the core technology ingredient

that is at the heart of a family of uncopiable, security and authentication solutions, targeted a wide range of industries, including

but not limited to, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, textiles and defense materials and DNAnet , for anti-theft and loss

prevention, and digitalDNA , providing powerful track-and-trace. Our products provide a forensic chain of evidence in

large commercial ecosystems

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Forward Looking Statements

The statements made by Applied DNA in this press release may

be "forward-looking" in nature within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements

describe Applied DNA's future plans, projections, strategies and expectations, and are based on assumptions and involve a number

of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Applied DNA. Actual results could differ materially from those

projected due to our lack of significant revenues, limited financial resources, limited market acceptance, history of net losses,

market competition, risk of not obtaining regulatory approval and various other factors detailed from time to time in Applied DNA's

SEC reports and filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on December 28, 2017 and our subsequent quarterly reports

on Form 10-Q filed on February 8, 2018 and May 3, 2018, which are available at www.sec.gov. Applied DNA undertakes no obligation

to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof to