ATS Liquidating Trust Announces Agreement for Sale of Anginera.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

BIOWIRE2K

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2004

The Trustee of the ATS Liquidating Trust (Pink Sheets:ATISZ -- please read the disclaimer in the last paragraph of this release regarding trading under this symbol) today announced he has entered into an agreement to sell the Trust's Anginera(TM) intellectual property to Iken Tissue Therapeutics, Inc. of San Francisco. Anginera is a human fibroblast-based, tissue-engineered, epicardial patch.

Under the agreement, Iken will pay the ATS Liquidating Trust $200,000 at closing in addition to future milestone and royalty payments. Potential future payments include a $300,000 milestone payment upon successful conclusion of the first Phase I/II Anginera human clinical trial, which is expected to occur by December 31, 2005. A $500,000 milestone would be payable at the successful conclusion of the Phase III Anginera human clinical trial which is expected to occur by March 31, 2008.

Approval for the marketing of Anginera by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would result in a $600,000 milestone payment. The agreement also specifies royalties of three per cent of product net sales for five years after the first sale following FDA approval.

The sale is subject to bankruptcy court approval as part of the ATS Chapter 11 Liquidating Plan of Reorganization (the Plan). The Trustee has also filed a motion with the bankruptcy court seeking an order approving the sale to Iken or a qualified overbidder. The bankruptcy court hearing where the court will hear the Trustee's motion to approve the sale is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. June 17, 2004 in San Diego. Further details of the transaction and information regarding the overbid process may be obtained from the motion filed with the bankruptcy court seeking approval of the above transaction.

In March, 2004, the Trust announced that results of a pivotal preclinical trial demonstrated the safety of Anginera. Furthermore, the efficacy data within that study supported previous findings and published results from prior animal studies on the ability of Anginera to positively influence left ventricular function of compromised hearts.

ATS previously announced that Anginera improved overall function of damaged heart tissue in mice while no negative effects on the function of normal heart tissue were observed. Prior to that, the company published research showing Anginera's ability to cause mature new blood vessels to form in infarcted cardiac tissues of mice. This work was published in the October 23, 2001 issue of Circulation, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

This release contains forward-looking statements regarding future milestone and royalty payments from the sale of assets of ATS by the Trust pursuant to the Plan. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the agreement announced in this release. The Trust undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date hereof.

As a result of the Plan which was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court by a final order dated March 21, 2003 and which became effective on March 31, 2003, the stock of ATS was cancelled and its former stockholders now hold non-trading interests in the ATS Liquidating Trust. According to the terms of the Plan, the Interests in the ATS Liquidating Trust are not to trade and the Liquidating Trustee will only recognize as beneficiaries of the Trust those equity holders of record as of the effective date of the Plan. Any trading that may be occurring after the effective date of the Plan under the symbol "ATISZ.PK" or otherwise is unauthorized by the Plan and will not be recognized by the Trustee. As a result of the terms of the Plan and the order of the Bankruptcy Court confirming the Plan, the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 as amended and the rules promulgated thereunder no longer apply to the Company since it has no issued stock, no shareholders, and is no longer in business. However, to the extent applicable, the above cautionary statement is made by the Trust under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.