Chinese Company’s Beta Glucan Supplement Violates Biothera Patents

EAGAN, MN – March 16, 2005 – Biothera, the immune health company, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in federal district court in Minnesota against Fenchem Enterprises, Ltd., a Chinese ingredient company that manufactures and markets GreenShield™ beta glucan.

The lawsuit states that GreenShield contains yeast beta 1,3/1,6 glucan in violation of a number of Biothera’s patents.  Biothera has more than 40 U.S. patents and patents pending, as well as additional patents in more than 20 countries, protecting the matter of composition, manufacturing and use of beta 1,3/1,6 glucan derived from Baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cervisiae).

“Biothera has the exclusive right to manufacture and sell its proprietary forms of yeast beta glucan as a dietary supplement,” said Richard Mueller, Biothera president and chief executive officer. “Fenchem has violated our U.S. patents and appropriated our marketing materials without permission.”

Biothera, formerly Biopolymer Engineering, Inc., has successfully enforced its patents in two previous legal actions. In 2002 the company obtained injunctive relief from the U.S. District Court that prohibited High Performance Living Corporation from selling nutritional supplements containing yeast beta 1,3/1,6 glucan. The following year Biothera reached a settlement in its patent infringement lawsuit against Levapan S.A. and Savoury Systems International Inc. in which the two companies agreed to recognize the validity of the company’s patents. Levapan S.A. and Savoury Systems International Inc. also agreed to stop selling beta glucan products in the U.S.

“We take these issues very seriously and intend to vigorously enforce our patents,” said Mueller.

Biothera has also filed patent infringement lawsuits against Biotec Pharmacon ASA, the manufacturer of Immutol^®, and its distributor, Immunocorp, as well as Cypress Systems Inc., the manufacturer of BetaPrecise™, an ingredient used in the products of Natrol Inc. (NASDAQ: NTOL) and other dietary supplement companies.

About Biothera, the Immune Health Company
Biothera is a biotechnology company dedicated to improving immune health. The company's primary focus is developing pharmaceuticals whose unique mechanism of action engages immune cells not normally involved in the fight against cancer. In addition, Biothera’s healthcare group manufactures and markets food-grade immune-enhancing ingredients for the nutritional supplement, functional food, cosmetic and the animal feed and nutrition markets.

Contact:
David Walsh
VP, Communications
Biothera, the Immune Health Company
651-256-4606
dwalsh@biotherapharma.com