BioProgress and Nestle Execute Product Development Agreement.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2000

BioProgress Technology International, Inc. ("BioProgress" or the "Company") (OTC BB: BPRG) today announced that it has executed a Product Development Agreement with Nestle to develop a range of innovative new consumer products utilizing BioProgress' unique XGel(TM) Film System encapsulation technology.

The specific product categories remain confidential.

Nestle is the world's largest food company with an annual turnover exceeding $42 billion, 230,000 employees and 509 manufacturing plants throughout the world. Nestle is strong in a wide range of consumer product sectors including baby foods, dairy products, breakfast cereals, dessert snacks and ice cream, chocolate and confectionary, home cooking, hot and cold beverages, mineral water and pet care. Nestle also enjoys brand leadership in many markets through globally recognized brands including Nescafe, Coffee-mate, Carnation, Libby's, Lean Cuisine, Tollhouse, Maggi, Buitoni, Perrier, Kit Kat, Smarties, Quality Street, After Eight and L'Oreal.

"We are particularly pleased to announce the addition of Nestle to the rapidly growing list of world-class customers for our XGel(TM) Technology. This agreement enables us to develop the potential for XGel(TM) technology in new applications for major global brands," stated Barry J. Muncaster, BioProgress' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In recent months we have executed agreements with Peter Black Healthcare, with a subsidiary of Brass Eagle, with a Fortune 500 company and with The Boots Company plc. Our success in winning these agreements positions BioProgress on course for a tremendous start to 2001. I remain confident in our ability to secure additional contracts on a regular basis, and in the very near future I expect to announce an agreement with a UK based public company regarding the distribution of our products within the Middle East, which is a very valuable market for our animal-free technology."

"Our agreement with Peter Black Healthcare was about the potential for XGel(TM) Film System technology as a replacement for existing encapsulation technology. The agreement with Nestle is about the unique opportunities that the XGel(TM) Film System technology offers to produce encapsulated products with performance characteristics not previously possible," stated Graham Hind, Managing Director of BioProgress Technology Limited. "Our customers are beginning to appreciate that the XGel(TM) Film System offers not only a cost effective alterative to the gelatin process, but also market expansion opportunities made possible by new product developments."

About BioProgress:

Following four years of research and development, BioProgress is emerging from its developmental stage. The Company is dedicated to commercializing its intellectual property in the field of water-soluble and biodegradable films and processes for their inclusion in high volume mass-market products. The Company is primarily focused on commercializing its proprietary XGel(TM) Film System. The XGel(TM) Film System is the world's first animal-free soft capsule process. The patented process eliminates the use of gelatin, which is a protein derived from animal renderings. Since the mid-1930's, gelatin has been the only material suitable for encapsulating non-aqueous products such as vitamin oils (dietary supplements), pharmaceuticals and cosmetic oils. The Company believes its XGel(TM) Film System is a revolutionary step in eliminating animal by-products from ingestible products used to deliver pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements, and on a cost-efficient basis compared to traditional methods.

Earlier this year BioProgress executed an Exclusive Evaluation Agreement in respect of a specific application of its XGel(TM) Film System with a Fortune 500 company and executed a further agreement with J T Racing LLP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brass Eagle, Inc., (Nasdaq: XTRM), to develop a new range of paintballs for the fast growing leisure pursuit. During July, the Company announced the sale of the first full XGel(TM) Film System License and XGel(TM) Film System to Peter Black Healthcare, the UK's leading producer of vitamin, herb and mineral supplements. Recently, the Company announced it had executed a Product Development Agreement with The Boots Company plc. The Boots Company plc consists of seven separate businesses with an annual turnover of more than $7 billion. Boots is the UK's leading retailer of health and beauty products, 1/3 of the UK population shop at the 1400 pharmacy stores every week. The Company continues to work with major international corporations engaged in pharmaceuticals, consumer durables and food products to determine the suitability of the XGel(TM) Film System to replace traditional encapsulation processes and, in some cases, to facilitate new product development not possible with competitive technologies.

BioProgress is a fully reporting company having its ordinary shares quoted on the NASD OTC Bulletin Board (symbol BPRG). The Company's web site can be viewed at www.bioprogress.com

Statements included in this press release which are not historical in nature, are intended to be, and are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provided by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by Public Law 104-67 and provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipate," "believe," "intends," "estimates," "expects," and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future business prospects are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.