Hayward, California
June 12, 2002

Mendel Biotechnology, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, announced today it was awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Cancer Institute. The grant will fund research to discover naturally occurring plant genes that regulate the production of Taxol(R), which is one of the most promising antitumor agents developed in the past three decades. Taxol(R) is a member of a class of pharmaceuticals known as taxoids that are produced in the cells of yew trees. The aim of the research is to identify naturally occurring plant genes that can increase the sustainable production of taxoid pharmaceuticals in plant cells.

"This is the second grant Mendel has received this year that exploits our unique expertise in plant regulatory genes to increase production of high value products such as taxoid pharmaceuticals," said William F. Goure, VP of Commercial Development for Mendel. "Many important pharmaceuticals such as Taxol(R) are derived from plant-produced chemicals, including numerous next generation pharmaceuticals now in development. Because such chemicals are typically produced in very low quantities in plants, they are often very expensive. We believe our unique technology makes it possible for Mendel scientists to quickly discover natural plant genes that can be used to increase the production and reduce the costs of many plant derived pharmaceuticals."

Pierre Broun, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, will serve as the Principal Investigator of the grant.

Founded in 1997, Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. is a pioneer in the application of functional genomics to the study of plant genes. Mendel's mission is to discover and characterize the function of plant regulatory genes and to develop and commercialize high-value products based on these discoveries. Mendel's products could benefit customers in agriculture, healthcare, specialty ingredient, forestry and horticulture markets. Mendel has partnerships with three of the six largest agriculture companies, including Monsanto.