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Sangart Reports Positive Phase Ib/II Clinical Trial Results for Hemospan®

SAN DIEGO, CA (March 11, 2004) – Sangart, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing oxygen transport agents, announced today positive results from its Phase Ib/II clinical trial involving Hemospan® (MP4), a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier designed to serve as an alternative for blood transfusions.

The trial was conducted at the Karolinska and Söder Hospitals in Stockholm, Sweden, and involved patients undergoing orthopedic surgical procedures. No serious adverse events or any adverse events attributable to Hemospan® were noted during the trial.

Robert M. Winslow, M.D., Sangart's Chairman and CEO, commented,"This clinical trial represents an important milestone in the development of Hemospan® as it involved its first administration to surgical patients in therapeutic doses. The results of this trial further support our belief that Hemospan® represents a significant advance in the effort to develop a safe and effective blood substitute. As with our extensive pre-clinical studies and earlier Phase I trial, the Phase Ib/II study clearly distinguishes Hemospan® from earlier technologies in the field."

Sangart's approach to the development of oxygen transport agents employs novel technology, the result of more than a decade of peer-reviewed research into the mechanism of oxygen transport by cell-free hemoglobin. Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that Hemospan® is free of harmful vasoactivity and provides targeted oxygen delivery to tissues at risk of oxygen deprivation; it has an extended half-life, simplified production and a low cost profile.

About Sangart

Sangart is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of medical products designed for use as alternatives to blood transfusions.

Dr. Robert Winslow, a world-renowned authority in the field of oxygen transport, founded Sangart in 1998. In the two decades prior to founding Sangart, Dr. Winslow and his colleagues studied and defined mechanisms of oxygen transport by cell-free hemoglobin solutions, funded by competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. The counterintuitive discoveries by Dr. Winslow's group on the effective action of oxygen transport agents have been patented and published in numerous scientific articles. From this experience, Sangart's lead product, Hemospan®, was designed using unique polyethylene glycol conjugation to create a hemoglobin-based product that is intended to serve as an alternative to donated blood.

The key breakthroughs in the development of Hemospan® were the understanding of the mechanisms of vasoconstriction and the development of simplified production methods that are designed to make the final product commercially viable. These breakthroughs laid the groundwork for Sangart's business concept of developing cost-effective oxygen carriers that can be used in lieu of transfused red blood cells during episodes of temporary blood loss, such as surgery or trauma.

Media Contacts:

The Ruth Group
Greg Tiberend
(646) 536-7005
gtiberend@theruthgroup.com
Cynthia Isaac, Ph. D.
(646) 536-7028
cisaac@theruthgroup.com

To learn more about Sangart or Hemospan®, please visit www.sangart.com