CED Finalizes Additional Program Details for Venture 2004.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CED Venture 2004

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2004

Final Group of Companies Selected to Present at Venture 2004;

"Fund of Funds" Manager Panel Held on Second Day of Annual Conference

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) has chosen 15 additional companies to present at Venture 2004, bringing the total number of presenting companies to 28. CED also announced today that Venture 2004 will feature a marquee "Fund of Funds" Manager panel with partners from Parish Capital Advisors, Adams Street Partners, Quellos Group and Fairview Capital.

Scheduled for April 27-28, 2004, at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC, CED's Venture 2004 will continue a 21-year tradition of showcasing North Carolina's innovation economy and leading investment opportunities.

The 15 companies recently selected to present at Venture 2004 include the following:

-- Ablatrics (Chapel Hill, NC)

-- Alveolus (Charlotte, NC - www.alveolus.com)

-- Applied Nanotechnologies, Inc. (Chapel Hill, NC -

www.applied-nanotech.com)

-- Bandwidth.com, Inc. (Cary, NC - www.bandwidth.com)

-- BioPheresis Technologies (Cary, NC)

-- Curry Pharmaceuticals (RTP, NC)

-- FLX Micro, Inc. (Raleigh, NC - www.flxmicro.com)

-- KBI BioPharma, Inc. (Durham, NC - www.kbibiopharma.com)

-- Nuada Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Durham, NC - www.nuadapharma.com)

-- Polyglot Systems, Inc. (Durham, NC - www.pgsi.com)

-- Red Pelican, Inc. (Durham, NC - www.redpelican.net)

-- SCYNEXIS, Inc. (RTP, NC - www.scynexis.com)

-- Vital Source Technologies, Inc. (Raleigh, NC -

www.vitalbook.com)

-- WindChannel Communications, LLC (Raleigh, NC -

www.windchannel.com)

-- Ziptronix (Morrisville, NC - www.ziptronix.com)

During the first two selection rounds in December 2003 and January 2004, CED chose 13 other companies to participate in the conference:

-- Affinergy (RTP, NC - www.affinergy.com)

-- APEX Analytix* (Greensboro, NC - www.apexanalytix.com)

-- Chorus Systems (Durham, NC - www.chorussystems.com)

-- Constella Group, Inc.* (Durham, NC - www.constellagroup.com)

-- DarPharma, Inc. (Chapel Hill, NC - www.darpharma.com)

-- Datacraft Solutions, Inc. (Durham, NC -

www.datacraftsolutions.com)

-- End II End Communications, Inc. (Charlotte, NC -

www.eiiecomm.com)

-- Metabolon, Inc. (Durham, NC - www.metabolon.com)

-- Noverant, Inc. (Raleigh, NC - www.noverant.com)

-- Overture Networks (Morrisville, NC - www.overturenetworks.com)

-- Piedmont Pharmaceuticals LLC (Greensboro, NC -

www.piedmontpharma.com)

-- Serenex (Durham, NC - www.serenex.com)

-- StrikeIron (Durham, NC - www.strikeiron.com)

More details on all of the Venture 2004 presenting companies are available online at http://www.cednc.org/conferences/venture/2004/presenters/. *Denotes Venture 2004 "Showcase Company," specifically selected to highlight the strengths of the region.

In addition to these company presentations, Venture 2004 will also offer a marquee "Fund of Funds" Manager panel on April 28 with an all-star cast of private equity managers:

-- James Mason, Parish Capital Advisors

-- Rebecca Connolly, Fairview Capital

-- Tom Gladden, Adams Street Partners

-- Gene McDonald, Quellos Group

Beyond the interactive panel discussion and presenting companies, Venture 2004 will feature previously announced speakers Senator Bob Dole, David Rubenstein of The Carlyle Group, and David Holvek of Johnson & Johnson Development Corp.

About Venture 2004: CED's 21st annual Venture 2004 - Where great minds meet smart money - is scheduled for April 27-28 at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC. The conference is presented with support from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and The National Venture Capital Association. Last year's conference, Venture 2003, drew a crowd of more than 800 investors, entrepreneurs, service professionals and others involved in the entrepreneurial funding process from throughout the United States. For more information on presenting companies, sponsorship or general registration, visit www.cednc.org/venture.

About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004, is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 3,500 members representing 1,000 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org