New Brunswick, New Jersey
October 1, 2002

Senesco Technologies, Inc. ("Senesco" or the "Company") (AMEX: SNT) today reported financial results for the 12 months ended June 30, 2002. Highlights of the fiscal year and subsequent weeks include:

• In November 2001, the Company entered into its first worldwide exclusive development and license agreement with Harris Moran Seed Company to commercialize the Company's technology in lettuce and certain melons. Upon execution of this agreement, Senesco received an up-front fee and may receive future milestone payments and royalties upon commercialization.
• In June 2002, Senesco signed a development and option agreement with ArborGen, LLC that will enable the two companies to incorporate Senesco's technology into enhanced forestry products being developed by ArborGen.
• In September 2002, Senesco signed a licensing and development agreement with Cal/West Seeds, enabling the two companies to incorporate Senesco's technology into enhanced alfalfa varieties being developed by Cal/West. This agreement includes options for the development of various other forage crops.
• Company scientists showed that Senesco's patent-pending gene, eucaryotic Initiation Factor 5A ("Factor 5A"), kills human cancer cells in preclinical experiments performed with cell lines derived from tumors. On the basis of these findings, the Company has initiated live-animal tumor studies to elucidate further the role of Factor 5A and its mechanism of action.
• Senesco common stock began trading on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker "SNT" on May 17, 2002. The Company's shares of common stock had been trading on the OTC Bulletin Board since January 1999.
• The Company added significant strength to its scientific advisory board (SAB) and its board of directors. Charles A. Dinarello, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and Russell L. Jones, Ph.D., Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, a prominent researcher of plant cell biology and cell death, joined the SAB. David Rector, Consultant, was elected a company director.
• The completion of several equity private placements for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $7.0 million. In connection with these successful fundraisings, the
  Company issued 4,006,753 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 3,011,534 shares of common stock.

"Over the past fiscal year, we made considerable progress and put in place the necessary pieces to continue building a functional genomics company," stated Bruce Galton, president and chief executive officer of Senesco. "During the year, we signed our first agricultural licensing agreement providing necessary validation of our plant technology, while in mammalian cell research, we made significant progress in preclinical studies with our DHS and Factor 5A gene technology. In addition, we added key advisors to our board of directors and our SAB, while raising substantial capital from accredited investors under challenging market conditions."

Mr. Galton continued, "We believe that we are off to a great start in fiscal 2003, with two new agreements in place and the continued preclinical research pertaining to the induction of apoptosis in human cancer cells by Factor 5A. We look forward to further scientific and partnership advancements during the balance of the year." 

Fiscal Year 2002 Results

The Company reported a net loss of $1,939,419, or $0.20 per share, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002. This compares with a net loss of $1,876,991, or $0.24 per share, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001. As of June 30, 2002, Senesco had cash, cash equivalents and investment securities totaling $4.6 million, and working capital of $3.4 million.

The Company had revenue of $200,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, which consisted of initial payments in connection with various license and development agreements.

Research and development (R&D) expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002 were $370,191, a decrease of $109,277 compared with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001. The decrease is attributed to a credit received in connection with the Company's R&D agreement with the University of Waterloo and to the completion of its research project that was conducted at Hebrew University. General and administrative (G&A) expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002 were $1,308,856, a decrease of $31,027 compared with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001.

Total operating expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002 increased to $2,314,233 from $1,971,071 last year. These results reflect increases in non-cash advertising, consulting and legal costs, which were partially offset by a decrease in general and administrative and R&D expenses.

Research & Development

Subsequent to the fiscal year, the Company announced that its patent-pending gene, apoptosis Factor 5A, has been shown to kill human cancer cells in pre-clinical experiments performed with cell lines derived from tumors. The apoptosis Factor 5A gene was isolated and identified in human cells. On the basis of these findings, the Company has initiated live-animal tumor studies to elucidate further the role of Factor 5A and its mechanism of action.

Prior to fiscal year 2002, the Company isolated and characterized the senescence-induced lipase gene, the deoxhypusine synthase ("DHS") gene and the Factor 5A gene in certain species of plants. The Company's goal is to inhibit the expression of (or silence) these genes to delay senescence, which in turn is expected to extend shelf-life, increase biomass, increase yield and increase resistance to environmental stress, thereby demonstrating "proof of concept" in each crop category.

The Company is currently working with lettuce, melon, tomato, canola, Arabidopsis, alfalfa and banana plants, as well as certain species of trees, and has obtained "proof of concept" for the lipase and DHS genes in several of these plants.

Senesco takes its name from the scientific term for the aging of cells: senescence. The Company has developed technology that regulates the onset of cell death. Delaying cell breakdown in plants extends  freshness after harvesting, while increasing crop yields, plant size and resistance to environmental stress for flowers, fruits and vegetables. The Company believes that its technology can be used to develop superior strains of crops without any modification other than delaying natural plant senescence. Senesco has begun to explore ways to trigger or delay cell death in mammals (apoptosis) to determine if the technology is applicable in human medicine. Senesco partners with leading-edge companies and earns research and development fees for applying its gene-regulating platform technology to enhance its partner's products. Senesco is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and has research laboratories at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.