College Station, Texas
June 5, 2002

ProdiGene, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a research agreement with FibroGen, Inc. for the production of recombinant gelatin in maize. The collaboration will focus on the use of ProdiGene's
proprietary transgenic plant system and FibroGen's proprietary methods for the production of a large quantity, low cost source of FibroGen's high quality recombinant gelatin.

Concerns surrounding animal and human-derived proteins make ProdiGene's expertise in the area of recombinant protein production in plants attractive to FibroGen. ProdiGene's technologies have led to ProdiGene's previously announced scale-up to production level quantities of recombinant trypsin, the first demonstration that kilogram quantities of a recombinant protein can be produced on a commercial scale in transgenic plants. The ability to produce large quantities of recombinant gelatin using ProdiGene's transgenic plant systems may provide FibroGen with an attractive opportunity to produce bulk quantities of its proprietary recombinant gelatin.

"As we continue to demonstrate the value of ProdiGene's transgenic technology, we are excited about this new opportunity to work with FibroGen in the production of recombinant gelatin," remarked Anthony G. Laos, President and Chief Executive Officer of ProdiGene. "Transgenic plant production of recombinant gelatin further illustrates the value of this technology in producing large volume, high quality, non-animal sourced proteins."

The objective of the agreement is to explore the production of commercial grade gelatin produced using ProdiGene's plant production technologies. Financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

Background on gelatin

Currently, gelatin is derived from denaturation of animal-source collagen. Gelatin has many applications in the pharmaceutical and medical markets, and is used in a wide range of applications, including hard and soft gel capsules, vaccines, and numerous other products. FibroGen's recombinant gelatins are unique materials, and are produced through the application of FibroGen's proprietary technology for the production of collagens and related materials in recombinant systems such as yeast.

About ProdiGene

ProdiGene, headquartered in College Station, Texas, is a private biotechnology company that is developing and manufacturing industrial and pharmaceutical proteins from a transgenic plant system. ProdiGene, as the first and only company to produce and market a recombinant protein from a transgenic plant system, is well positioned to capitalize on the opportunities in the large and expanding recombinant protein markets. To learn more, visit our web site at http://www.prodigene.com. 

About FibroGen

FibroGen, Inc. is a private biotechnology company developing novel drugs to arrest fibrosis and scarring in chronic conditions, such as lung fibrosis, scleroderma, liver fibrosis, and surgical adhesions, and in acute conditions, such as dermal scarring and reactive fibrosis following heart attack, as well as fibrotic complications of diabetes, for which there are no known therapies today.

Additionally, leveraging its knowledge of extracellular matrix biology, FibroGen has developed the only known commercially viable methods for the production of recombinant human collagens and gelatins, including the production of specifically designed synthetic gelatins based on particular portions of collagen molecules, for pharmaceutical, medical device, and many other markets, offering replacements for the animal carcass-derived materials currently available. To learn more about FibroGen, please visit http://www.fibrogen.com.