MediGene Receives a Research Grant of 1.4 Million Euros for the Further Development of the EndoTAG Platform Technology

Martinsried - San Diego, March 17, 2006. The German-American biotech company MediGene AG (Frankfurt, TecDAX) announces, that it has received a grant of 1,397,200.00 Euros from the Bayerische Forschungsstiftung (BFS = Bavarian Research Foundation), to be spent over a period of three years. The funds will be utilized for the project "Cationic Nanoparticles for Targeting of Angiogenic Vessels".

The grant will enable MediGene to extend its EndoTAG technology, which has successfully been tested in various cancer indications, to other diseases. Novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of diseases where the pathogenic formation of new blood vessels plays a pivotal role will be evaluated and developed. For realization of this innovative project, MediGene will cooperate with four research units of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. The groups from the Faculty of Pharmaceutics and Medicine possess the excellent expertise needed for the development of novel cationic nanoparticles and for testing their efficacy in relevant disease models at the Institute of Surgical Research.

Apart from solid tumors numerous diseases are characterized by pathogenic formation of new blood vessels. Examples include rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory joint destructing process and age-related macular degeneration, a disease leading to blindness. Both entities represent a promising starting point for the therapeutic application of the patent-protected EndoTAG technology developed by MediGene.

Dr. Peter Heinrich, Chief Executive Officer of MediGene AG, comments: "We are very proud that an independent scientific council advised the BFS to fund the development of our innovative EndoTAG platform technology with such a large amount of money. The funds will enable us to fully utilize the network of top researchers at the Munich life science campus, for the development of novel active agents and for the evaluation of angiogenesis as a novel approach in drug development"

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgement of MediGene as of the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are no guarantees for future performance, and the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur. MediGene disclaims any intent or obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements. MediGeneTM is a trademark of MediGene AG.
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MediGene AG is a publicly quoted (Frankfurt: TecDAX), German-American biotechnology company located in Martinsried, Germany and San Diego, USA. MediGene is the first German biotech company with a drug on the market. The NDA for a second drug, Polyphenon® E Ointment, has been submitted. In addition, MediGene has several oncological drug candidates undergoing clinical development, and possesses innovative platform technologies for drug development. MediGene’s core competence lies in research into and development of novel approaches for the treatment of various cancer and tumor diseases.

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Dr. Georg Dönges

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MediGene AG

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