Bioenvision Appoints Michael Kauffman, M.D., Ph.D, to Board Of Directors.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 2004

Bioenvision, Inc. (Amex:BIV) today announced that Michael Kauffman, M.D., Ph.D., has been elected to its board of directors. Dr. Kauffman currently serves as President and CEO of Predix Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately owned drug discovery and development company.

Dr. Kauffman received his M.D. and Ph.D. (Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology) at the Johns Hopkins University and performed his postdoctoral training at Harvard University. He is board certified in internal medicine and has over 10 years of extensive experience in drug discovery and development.

"We are pleased to bring Michael Kauffman's drug development expertise to the board of directors of Bioenvision," commented Dr. Christopher B. Wood, Chairman and CEO of Bioenvision. "While Vice President of Medicine at Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., Michael played a key role in fostering the expedited approval of VELCADE(TM), one of the most novel oncology compounds approved by the FDA. The speed of the approval speaks to Michael's expertise in designing and executing clinical development strategies. We look forward to his guidance as we bring our lead drugs to market."

Prior to joining Predix, Dr. Kauffman held positions of increasing responsibility at Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. where he most recently served as Vice President of Medicine and Leader of the VELCADE Development Program. Prior to that, Dr. Kauffman held senior positions at Millennium Predictive Medicine, Inc., which was acquired by Millennium Pharmaceuticals in 2000. Dr. Kauffman has also worked with Biogen Corporation where he served as medical director of the inflammation program and in other managerial positions.

Dr. Kauffman is the author of numerous medical publications and is the publisher and President of OutlineMed Inc., a developer of medical information software.

About Bioenvision

Bioenvision's (Amex:BIV) primary focus is the development and distribution of compounds and technologies for the treatment of cancer. Bioenvision has a broad pipeline of products for the treatment of cancer, including: clofarabine (in co-development with ILEX Oncology, Inc.), Modrenal(R) (for which Bioenvision has obtained regulatory approval for marketing in the United Kingdom for the treatment of post-menopausal breast cancer following relapse to initial hormone therapy), and other products in clinical trials. Bioenvision is also developing anti-infective technologies, including the OLIGON technology; an advanced biomaterial that has been incorporated into various FDA approved medical devices. For more information on Bioenvision please visit our Web site at www.bioenvision.com.

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because these statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Specifically, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: risks associated with preclinical and clinical developments in the biopharmaceutical industry in general and in Bioenvision's compounds under development in particular; the potential failure of Bioenvision's compounds under development to prove safe and effective for treatment of disease; uncertainties inherent in the early stage of Bioenvision's compounds under development; failure to successfully implement or complete clinical trials; failure to receive marketing clearance from regulatory agencies for our compounds under development; acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, licenses or strategic initiatives that change Bioenvision's business, structure or projections; the development of competing products; uncertainties related to Bioenvision's dependence on third parties and partners; and those risks described in Bioenvision's filings with the SEC. Bioenvision disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.