APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE OPTION TO SELL PROPRIETARY SALT THAT MAY LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE; Data Suggests Benefits for Hypertensives and Those at Risk for Developing Hypertension.

TARRYTOWN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 1995--Applied Microbiology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMBI, PSE:APL) announced that it has acquired an exclusive option from a division of Orion Corporation, the largest pharmaceutical company in Finland, to sell its patented salt alternative in the United States.

Sold in Finland and Japan under the trade name "PanSalt," this product has significantly less sodium than regular salt and contains potassium and magnesium, essential minerals that may help in the dietary management of blood pressure.

Hypertension or high blood pressure affects approximately 50 million Americans. In 1993, the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure of the National Institutes of Health recommended six lifestyle modifications for hypertension control, including reducing regular salt intake to less than 6 grams per day and maintaining adequate dietary potassium and magnesium intake. On average, adult Americans consume 10-12 grams per day of regular salt.

"PanSalt is the only salt alternative that contains magnesium and potassium, as well as reduced sodium, and that has the taste of regular salt," said Fredric D. Price, President and CEO of Applied Microbiology. Pre-clinical and clinical studies published in peer-reviewed journals showed that special dietary salt alternatives containing reduced sodium and increased potassium and magnesium contribute to a reduction of blood pressure. Price added, "While it is not a treatment for hypertension, it is a healthy and convenient way for people to reduce the amount of sodium in their diet without giving up the taste of salt."

Price said AMBI intends to market PanSalt, with a new trademark, to physicians for recommendation to their hypertensive patients and to those at risk of developing hypertension. The company will use its existing commercial organization to market the product to food manufacturers and food service providers. Price anticipates that this product will be on the market in 1996.

Price and Emer Leahy, Ph.D., AMBI's Director of Business Development, presented the scientific research supporting the benefits of using PanSalt at a conference today in New York sponsored by the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine.

Lawrence S. Weisberg, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Camden, N.J. said, "It is generally accepted that increased dietary potassium and magnesium may help protect against developing hypertension in susceptible individuals and may assist in lowering blood pressure for those with hypertension. Increased sodium intake is often associated with elevated blood pressure. Although salt restriction is recommended for people with hypertension, compliance with a low-sodium diet is generally acknowledged to be poor."

PanSalt is sold in Finland and Japan as a tabletop product and as a branded ingredient in a variety of cheeses, snacks, breads, soups, and other salty foods. Traditional low-sodium salt products have a metallic, bitter, less salty taste and usually do not satisfy consumer taste requirements. Taste tests have demonstrated that PanSalt has the same salty taste as regular salt.

Applied Microbiology is a food and pharmaceutical company that sells special dietary foods and ingredients in more than 40 countries and is developing its proprietary pharmaceutical technology for the treatment of diseases such as ulcers, gingivitis, skin infections, hospital-acquired infections, colonic infections, and mastitis infections in lactating dairy cattle. The company has pharmaceutical partnerships with Astra Merck, SmithKline Beecham, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Its headquarters and pharmaceutical research activities are located in New York and it has food research as well as pharmaceutical and food manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom.

CONTACT: Applied Microbiology, Inc.

Stephen Benoit, 914/345-6803

Kristin Gearty, 212/872-8030