Bothell, Washington
April 26,  2001

EDEN Bioscience Corporation (Nasdaq:EDEN), which develops, manufactures and markets innovative, natural products for protecting plants and improving crop production, today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2001. "We achieved very good financial results this quarter," said Jerry Butler, president and CEO. "Acceptance of our first product, Messenger, continues to grow throughout the agricultural community, and we are seeing increased purchases by leading growers throughout the U.S. While these signs are encouraging, we are sensitive to the potential impact on our business of generally unfavorable economic conditions in our initially targeted markets, especially in the Florida citrus market." Revenue for the first quarter of 2001 was $3.8 million, all of which was derived solely from sales of the company's first product, Messenger. Net loss in the quarter was $2.5 million or $0.10 per weighted average common share, which compares to a net loss of $3.1 million or $0.18 per pro forma weighted average common share in the first quarter of 2000. Pro forma per-share computations reflect the retroactive conversion of all EDEN convertible preferred stock into common stock, which took place on September 26, 2000. Pro forma weighted-average common shares for the two quarters are based upon 23.9 million shares and 16.5 million shares, respectively. 

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS 

• The Company announced it has received conditional approval from the State of New York for the sale of Messenger(R) for use on all crops. The approval is effective immediately. The conditions are similar to the conditions mandated by the US EPA. Previously, on March 23, 2001, EDEN announced that it received registration from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (California DPR) for the sale and use of Messenger on strawberry.
• EDEN strengthened its management team with the addition of Dan Burdett as Business Unit Manager for the Midwest. Burdett is a seasoned agriculture executive with more than 20 years of experience in product and human resources management, training, and sales with leading agriculture companies. Commenting on Burdett's appointment, Butler noted, "We are pleased to welcome Dan to the EDEN team, and believe his strong background in agriculture sales management will help us move forward in developing product usage, marketing, and sales for the region, with emphasis on the major U.S. row crops -- corn, soybeans and wheat." Prior to joining EDEN, he was the Director of Field Business with Garst Seed Company, where he was responsible for managing all sales functions.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK 

In 2001, the initial launch year of Messenger, management estimates the following revenue guidance for the second quarter and the remainder of the year: 

• For the second quarter, revenue is expected to be in the range of $4 million to $6 million.
• For the full year, ending December 31, 2001, revenue is expected to be in the range of $15 million to $22 million.

EDEN advises that forecasting at this time of the year is subject to uncertainty due to many factors, including but not limited to: weather, product adoption rates, and general economic conditions in agriculture. 

ABOUT EDEN BIOSCIENCE 

EDEN Bioscience is a plant technology company focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing innovative natural products for agriculture. EDEN believes its technology and initial product, Messenger(R), allows it to offer superior alternatives to existing plant protection and crop yield enhancement products in terms of both performance and safety, and importantly, to avoid the substantial public resistance to many chemical pesticides and genetically modified plants. Messenger, which received EPA approval for full commercial use in April 2000, is based on naturally occurring proteins called "harpins", which activate natural plant defense systems to protect against disease and pests, and simultaneously activate plant growth systems, improving crop yield and quality. It has been extensively tested in hundreds of field trials in four countries and on more than 40 crops including: citrus, cotton strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, melons, wheat, rice, peanuts, tobacco, grapes and others. EDEN Bioscience's headquarters are at 11816 North Creek Parkway N., Bothell, WA 98011, 425/806-7300; www.edenbio.com.  

Company news release
N3482