CED's 13th Annual Biotech 2004 Sponsoring Company Profiles.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

CED Biotech 2004

BIOWIRE2K

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2004

Biotech 2004 takes place May 26th and 27th, 2004, at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Research Triangle Park, NC. For in-depth information about the event, visit http://www.cednc.org/conferences/biotech/2004/.

Below are profiles from Biotech 2004 sponsors. Business Wire is the official news wire service for Biotech 2004.

Company:  Cirrus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Media Contact:  Jean-Marc Bovet, Senior Vice President
Investor Relations Contact: Jean-Marc Bovet, Senior Vice President
Phone: [phone]
Company URL:  http://www.cirruspharm.com

Research, product development and laboratory testing services
offered by Cirrus Pharmaceuticals include: physical and chemical
characterization, dosage form design, device evaluation, stability
testing, batch release and clinical supplies, formulation, delivery
system, pharmaceutical analysis and process development.

Cirrus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. offers comprehensive product
development services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology
industries. With partnerships that span the globe, Cirrus works with
start-up, mid-size, and multi-national companies. Our laboratories are
fully GMP-compliant and we are registered with the FDA. From drug
characterization through NDA submission, Cirrus provides strategic
product development to meet regulatory and business needs.

Company: CottonMoehrke Financial Group of UBS Financial Services Inc.
Ticker Symbol: UBS
Media Contact: Peter Casey
Phone: [phone]
Company URL: http://www.ubs.com/fa/jimtucker

CottonMoehrke Financial Group of UBS Financial Services Inc. works
with senior executives, their families and their companies to provide
quality wealth management services. We offer the preparation of a
financial plan at no cost or obligation as a means of introducing our
Firm and our services.

UBS Wealth Management USA serves the wealth management needs of
more than 2 million clients with more than 7,700 financial advisors in
over 350 branch offices nationwide, under the name UBS Financial
Services Inc. UBS Wealth Management USA is one of four business groups
of UBS AG.

Company: CRB Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Media Contact: Bo Crouse-Feuerhelm, CPSM, Associate and Director of
                Client Services
Phone: [phone]
E-mail:  [e-mail]
Company URL: http://www.crbusa.com

CRB is a consulting MEP and Process engineering firm.

CRB provides process and facility solutions to biopharmaceutical
companies in all areas of project execution. Services include facility
planning/programming, process engineering, development, and design;
BSL-3+ laboratory and biopharmaceutical facility design;
mechanical/electrical engineering, and instrumentation and automation
services. Additional services include program/project management,
strategic planning, cleanroom testing, commissioning, start-up
assistance, and validation. Our client list includes the top 100
biopharmaceutical companies.

Company:  Dow Jones VentureWire
Ticker Symbol: DJ
Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Company URL: http://www.venturewire.com

VentureWire Lifescience is a premium daily news and information
service for those with a competitive stake in the world of
venture-backed life sciences companies--in biotech, medical devices
and diagnostics, e-health, and healthcare products and services.

VentureWire products are the premier source of news, networking,
and information about private technology companies, VC firms, and the
people that manage and finance them.

The VentureWire publications provide you with the most-up-to date,
comprehensive and authoritative insight on the companies, the deals
and the people driving private-company growth.

Company:  Duke University The Fuqua School of Business
Media Contact: Jim Gray
Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Company URL:  http://www.fuqua.duke.edu
Press Area URL:  http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admin/extaff/newsroom/

The highly ranked Duke MBA - Weekend Executive now offers a
one-of-a-kind concentration in Health Sector Management designed for
professionals in all fields of health care who are taking on greater
management responsibilities. This program provides the complete Duke
MBA degree with the added benefit of course work in topics critical to
the increasingly complex business of health care.

Since its beginning in 1969, Duke University's Fuqua School of
Business has established itself as one of the premier business schools
in the world. An innovator in MBA programs, Duke is proud to be
consistently ranked as a leading educational institution.

Company:  Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Ticker Symbol:  ISPH
Media Contact:  Mary Bennett
Investor Relations Contact:  Mary Bennett, Sr.
 VP Operations/Communications
Phone:  [phone]
E-mail:  [e-mail]
Company URL:  www.inspirepharm.com

Inspire added a commercial operations team in early 2004 and currently
markets two products developed by its partner Allergan: Elestat(TM)for
allergic conjunctivitis and Restasis(R)for dry eye. Inspire has one
product NDA pending, two programs in active Phase II development and
one program entering Phase I development in 2004.

Inspire is a biotech company pursuing promising new treatments
primarily in ophthalmology and respiratory disease areas. Inspire
scientists have developed P2Y2 receptor agonists as potential
treatments for multiple diseases where these receptors play a role,
including dry eye, cystic fibrosis and retinal disease.

Company:  O'Brien/Atkins Associates
Media Contact:  John L. Atkins, III, President and Chief Executive
                 Officer
Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Company URL: http://www.obrienatkins.com

O'Brien/Atkins provides architectural, interior design,
mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering, landscape
architecture/site planning and construction administration services.

O'Brien/Atkins Associates specializes in custom-designed science
and technology facilities for the life sciences and information
technology industries. Its multidisciplinary staff collaboratively
assists clients with their capital improvement, site selection, space
programming and building design needs.

Company: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Contact: Jeff Barber, Managing Partner
Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is the world's largest professional
services organization, drawing on the knowledge and skills of more
than 120,000 people in 139 countries. We provide industry-focussed
assurance, tax and advisory services for public and private clients
primarily in four areas, including: corporate accountability, risk
management, structuring and mergers and acquisitions and performance
and process improvement.

Our use of our networks, experience, industry knowledge and
business understanding in each of these areas distinguishes the way we
work. We can support your growth and business goals by structuring
creative financing methods to meet your growth model, assist you in
formulating business strategies and plans, advise you in mergers and
acquisitions and partnership arrangements, help you attract and retain
qualified individuals for your management team, develop appropriate
compensation packages, provide answers to questions regarding both
domestic and international expansion, provide advice on license and
technology transfer, assist with the planning of an initial public
offering and subsequent SEC reporting activities, and advise you on
other business requirements as needed.

Company: Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC
Media Contact: Peter Larmey
Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Company URL:  http://www.wcsr.com
Press Area URL:  http://www.wcsr.com/FSL5CS/Custom/TOCPress%20Room.asp

A full-service business law firm, Womble Carlyle ranks among
AmLaw's 100 leading firms in the country and is considered a top firm
for companies doing business in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
Founded in Winston-Salem, N.C., in 1876, Womble Carlyle operates in
four states and the District of Columbia with 470 attorneys in nine
offices located in Atlanta, Ga.; Greenville, S.C.; Charlotte,
Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, N.C.;
Washington, D.C.; and Tyson's Corner, Va.

Company: WYRICK ROBBINS YATES & PONTON LLP
Media Contact: MaryLou Rothfuss, Marketing Coordinator
Contact: Kenneth E. Eheman, Jr., Esq.
Phone:  [phone]
E-mail:  [e-mail] or [e-mail]
Company URL:  http://www.wyrick.com

Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, the region's leading law firm
in the representation of high-impact life sciences and technology
companies, is proud to sponsor CED's Biotech 2004. Wyrick Robbins has
spent over two decades helping clients of all sizes seize their
opportunities through its focused group of legal experts with the
insight to devise solutions where none may seem apparent.

Wyrick Robbins is located in Raleigh, North Carolina near the
Research Triangle Park, and in SouthPark in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP
Our Business Is Law.