December 18, 2001 — BELLEVILLE, ON — Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. will receive funding from Healthy Futures for Ontario Agriculture, valued at approximately $1.4 million, from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) to assess the beneficial effects of the company’s E.coli O157:H7 cattle vaccine on the environment.

Bioniche is a fully integrated Canadian biopharmaceutical company serving both the human and animal health markets.

“Bioniche is excited by the potential of our E.coli O157:H7 cattle vaccine to reduce environmental contamination and thereby help to eliminate a well-documented threat to human health,” said Martin Warmelink, president of Bioniche Food Safety. “Results of the study will complement ongoing, large-scale trials of the vaccine and will be used to increase our understanding of how this deadly bacterium can be effectively controlled.”

The study, to be conducted on farms across Ontario by the Veterinary faculty of the University of Guelph will assess the vaccine’s potential to minimize the threat of water and food contamination posed by the fecal shedding of the bacteria from cattle. Approximately 100 cow/calf herds will be involved in the study, which the company expects to be completed by the third quarter of 2003. Bioniche will contribute approximately $0.5 million to the project, bringing the total value of the research to approximately $2.0 million. The Ontario Cattleman’s Association is also sponsoring the Ontario study.

Bioniche is also conducting other clinical trials in Western Canada for regulatory approval of the vaccine in both Canada and the US.