Senesco Technologies, Inc. ("Senesco" or the "Company") (AMEX: SNT) reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2003.

The net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2004 was $1,400,482, or $0.12 per share, compared with a net loss of $514,632, or $0.04 per share, for the comparable period in fiscal 2003. The net loss increased primarily due to an increase in stock-based compensation included in general and administrative expenses related to the issuance of a warrant to a financial advisor, at an exercise price above market when granted, in connection with a financial advisory agreement that was entered into during the first quarter of fiscal 2004.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2004, the Company reported no revenue, compared with revenue of $10,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2003.

Total operating expenses for the first quarter of fiscal 2004 were $1,411,393, compared with $547,188 for the comparable period in fiscal 2003. The increase of $864,205, or 157.8%, was attributable primarily to an increase in stock-based compensation and research and development expenses, which were partially offset by a decrease in other general and administrative expenses.

Research and development expenses increased to $272,001, from $159,164 in the comparable period in fiscal 2003. The increase of $112,837, or 70.9%, was attributable primarily to the expansion of the Company's research and development program at the University of Waterloo, the implementation of the Company's mammalian cell research programs and the implementation of new plant research being conducted in connection with a collaboration agreement with Anawah, Inc.

General and administrative expenses, inclusive of stock-based compensation, for the first quarter of fiscal 2004 were $1,139,392, up from $388,024 for the comparable period in fiscal 2003. The increase of $751,368, or 193.6%, was attributable primarily to an increase to $843,480 in stock-based compensation calculated under the Black Scholes model in the first quarter of fiscal 2004 from $24,800 in the first fiscal quarter of 2003. The increase in stock-based compensation was partially offset by a decrease in payroll and professional fees.

At September 30, 2003, Senesco had cash and investments of $1.9 million and working capital of $1.7 million.

Recent Corporate Highlights

In September 2003, the Company, together with scientists from the University of Colorado Medical School, had been selected by the International Cytokine Society to present results from the Company's preclinical studies at its annual meeting held on September 20-24, 2003 at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The Company's abstract was published in European Cytokine Network.

Also in September 2003, the Company and its joint venture partner Rahan Meristem, Ltd. announced results from their banana field trials. The trials indicated that Senesco's proprietary technology dramatically extends the shelf-life of banana fruit. Five years of co-development work culminated in this first round of field trials in which Senesco banana fruit lasted twice as long as control (non-enhanced) fruit. The Senesco bananas ripened normally, but the onset of spoilage and blackening that follows ripening was significantly delayed.

In July 2003, Senesco announced that preclinical experiments have indicated that its patent-pending Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 5A1 ("Factor 5A") gene may regulate the inflammatory proteins known as cytokines. The Company believes that this discovery may yield a new approach to inflammatory disease research and treatment because inflammatory cytokines have been linked to rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, Crohn's disease, multiple myeloma and other serious diseases.

The full text of the Company's press releases is available at www.senesco.com.

Senesco takes its name from the scientific term for the aging of plant cells: senescence. The Company has developed technology that regulates the onset of cell death. Delaying cell breakdown in plants extends freshness after harvesting, while increasing crop yields, plant size and resistance to environmental stress for flowers, fruits and vegetables. The Company believes that its technology can be used to develop superior strains of crops without any modification other than delaying natural plant senescence. Senesco has begun to explore ways to trigger or delay cell death in mammals (apoptosis) to determine if the technology is applicable in human medicine. Accelerating apoptosis may have applications to development of cancer treatments. Delaying apoptosis may have applications to certain diseases such as Alzheimer's, glaucoma, ischemia and arthritis, among others. Senesco partners with leading-edge companies and earns research and development fees for applying its gene-regulating platform technology to enhance its partners' products. Senesco is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and utilizes research laboratories at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada and the University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado.