Otsu, Shiga, Japan - May 26, 2003 - Takara Bio Inc., (President and CEO: Ikunoshin Kato, Ph.D.) a leader in the development of innovative technologies for the biotechnology industry, announced today that Takara Bio grants VIRxSYS Corporation, a private biotechnology company focused on the development of novel genetic medicines and vaccines, a non-exclusive license to use Takara Bio's RetroNectin™ mediated gene transduction technology in its clinical trials of VRX496 for an undisclosed fee. VRX496 is VIRxSYS' proprietary lentiviral gene therapy vector for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. VIRxSYS has initiated a Phase I clinical trial of VRX496 in HIV patients in the United States and this trial is now underway at the University of Pennsylvania.

RetroNectin™ is a recombinant human fibronectin developed by Takara Bio in collaboration with Indiana University, which increases transduction efficiency in retrovirus mediated gene therapy. More than 30 institutes and hospitals worldwide use RetroNectin^TM for their gene therapy clinical trials. The use of RetroNectin™ is now widely recognized as standard for gene therapy.

Using gene therapy to treat HIV/AIDS, VIRxSYS' VRX496 employs a lentiviral vector to deliver an anti-HIV antisense payload that acts as a "molecular scissors", destroying HIV genetic material and preventing replication. Such inhibition of HIV replication in HIV-infected patients could indefinitely postpone AIDS disease progression. This is a radically different approach to the current anti-retroviral drug regimens that are most commonly used to treat HIV/AIDS. Although such combination therapies are successful in reducing the viral load in patients, many patients report serious adverse effects, and HIV often demonstrates resistance to these combination therapies that can render them ineffective.

About Takara Bio Inc.
Takara Bio Inc. is an innovative biotechnology company based in Shiga, Japan. As a world leader in biotechnology research and development, Takara Bio was the first company to market PCR technology in Japan and is also the developer of the RetroNectin™ reagent, which is a world-standard in gene therapy protocols. In addition to providing research reagents and equipment to the life science research market, Takara Bio has active research and product development activities in the fields of gene and cell-based therapy, and agricultural biotechnology; and is committed preventing disease and improving the quality of life for all people through the use of biotechnology. Through strategic alliances with other industry leaders, the Company aims to extend its reach around the world. More information is available at http://www.takara-bio.com.

About VIRxSYS
VIRxSYS Corporation is a private biotechnology company founded in 1998 to develop a novel lentiviral vector platform technology for the treatment of serious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and cancer. The Company's patented, proprietary technology is based on research originally conducted at and exclusively licensed from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland by VIRxSYS' Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Boro Dropulic. VIRxSYS is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Additional information is available at VIRxSYS' Web site at http://www.virxsys.com.

For more information:
Corporate Communications
Takara Bio Inc.
E-mail: bio-ir@takara-bio.co.jp

This article is translated from press release in Japanese for your convenience.

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