For Immediate Release

SEMBIOSYS GENETICS INC. RECEIVES BROAD US PATENT FOR ITS OILBODY PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY

Dermasphere™ Ingredient System Offers New Benefits to Personal Care and Topical Pharmaceutical Companies

November 28, 2000

CALGARY, Canada - SemBioSys Genetics Inc. announced today that it has been granted United States Patent 6,146,645 covering the use of its plant oilbody technology in personal care and topical pharmaceutical products, and other applications. The patent broadly covers any emulsion formulation containing purified oilbodies from any source.

Oil bodies are liposome-like organelles found in oilseeds, consisting of a triglyceride core surrounded by a layer of phospholipids, which is in turn covered by a protein shell comprised of oleosin proteins. Because of this unique chemical structure, oilbodies can be used as a basic ingredient in the manufacture of a wide range of personal care and other products. SemBioSys has developed a proprietary process to extract oilbodies very inexpensively from oilseeds. The Company has already demonstrated that the oilbody-based Dermasphere™ Ingredient System is highly versatile for formulation into a wide range of personal care products and imparts outstanding cosmetic elegance (silky skin feel, excellent rub-in, nice afterfeel) and emolliency to finished formulations. The company is also evaluating the utility of oilbodies as a carrier/delivery system for small molecules in personal care and topical pharmaceutical applications. Finally, SemBioSys is using its previously patented genetic engineering technology to attach proteins to oilbodies, providing a unique opportunity to manufacture and formulate proteins into a natural emulsion system that may be used in both topical and oral applications. The newly issued patent spans the entire range of the oilbody-based products for topical and oral applications.

"The Dermasphere™ Ingredient System is multi-functional, offering personal care and topical pharmaceutical companies a new technology for product formulation", said SemBioSys Chief Executive Officer Andrew Baum. "In particular, it could facilitate the use of enzymes and other products in the personal care industry, an area of great future promise. "Our intellectual property position is an important element in establishing SemBioSys as a leader in the development of novel biotechnology ingredients for the personal care industry."

SemBioSys is a Calgary based biotechnology company focused on the development of high value protein and oilbody based products using its proprietary oilbody/oleosin technology. The company, based on technology developed by scientific founder Maurice Moloney, was spun-out of the University of Calgary in 1996. The Company announced that it had executed a multi-year product development with Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute Inc. in January of this year. In October of this year the company completed a $16.5 million CDN private financing led by Bay City Capital, through its North American Nutrition and Agribusiness Fund. Besides Bay City, investors include Dow AgroSciences Canada Inc, Ventures West, Business Development Bank of Canada, University Technologies International, Royal Bank Capital Partners and scientific founder Dr. Maurice Moloney.

For further information contact: Mr. Andrew Baum, President and Chief Executive Officer Phone: (403) 250-5424 x. 24 Fax: (403) 250-3886 Email: bauma@sembiosys.ca

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