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Sangart Receives Approval To Initiate Phase II Clinical Trial For Hemospan®

SAN DIEGO, CA (April 12, 2004) – Sangart, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing oxygen transport agents, announced today that it has received approval from the Swedish Medical Products Agency (MPA) to conduct a Phase II clinical trial for Hemospan® (MP4), a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier designed to serve as an alternative for blood transfusions.

The trial will be conducted at approximately six sites in Sweden and is anticipated to include up to 90 patients undergoing elective and emergency orthopedic surgeries. Sangart expects the trial will commence later this month.

Robert M. Winslow, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sangart, commented, "We believe the MPA's rapid approval of this protocol is further evidence of the remarkable safety profile of Hemospan®. This study will expand the safety database for Hemospan® and should provide further support for its clinical potential. The success of the prior clinical trials with Hemospan® supports its advantages as a radical departure from other oxygen transport agents in development."

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. Further, 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:

Marites Cristobal Coulter
Edelman
(323) 202-1424
marites.cristobal@edelman.com

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