Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc. Receives Notice of Allowance for Sepsis Patent; Company Also Announces New Updates to its Patent Portfolio.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

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RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2004

Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ SmallCap Market:CBTE), a life sciences contract research organization and biotechnology company, was notified today by the United States Patent and Trademark Office that the claims made in its Patent Application, entitled "Adsorption and Removal of Endotoxin from Physiological Fluids using Cationic Helix Peptides," have been allowed in their entirety. A Notice of Allowance from the Patent Office is usually the prelude to near-term patent issuance.

The incidence of sepsis in the United States is approximately 500,000 cases per year of which the mortality incidence ranges from 35 to 65%. Despite the most modern of intensive life support measures, this means that 150,000 to 300,000 people die each year in the United States from endotoxic shock (sepsis) and it is estimated that the cost in treating these patients is $5 to $10 billion dollars, annually. Endotoxins derived from bacteria are potent stimulators of the production and release of pro-inflammatory mediators, the cumulative effects of which are disseminated intravascular coagulation, multiple organ failure, and very often, death.

In the course of its work in binding negatively charged target molecules, CBI designed, synthesized, and tested a family of positively charged peptides which possess potent endotoxin binding activity. The consequence of binding is that endotoxin is quantitatively sequestered from a plasma or aqueous test solution. CBI's patent protects the structures of these peptides and their potential use as a diagnostic to detect the presence of endotoxin in physiological fluids, including plasma, saliva, urine, feces, or in tissue samples, or in using the peptides to bind endotoxin in dialysis type treatments, or in using the peptides to bind endotoxin in vivo as a singular or conjunctive therapy for removing endotoxin from the circulation.

"This discovery emanates from our Biological Chemistry group, headed by Dr. Russ Wolz," said Dr. Robert B. Harris, co-inventor and President and CEO of CBI, "and is testament to the creativity and expertise resident in our scientists. While at an early stage, CBI anticipates that this invention will gain the attention of potential development partners, many of which are actively searching for effective sepsis treatments."

In other news concerning its intellectual property portfolio, CBI announced that its patent entitled "Measuring Viral Reverse Transcriptase Activity" issued December 16, 2003, under US patent number 6,664,065. Also, the Japanese Patent Office issued patent number 3,472,513 in September, 2003 to CBI for HepArrest(TM), CBI's unique heparin reversal agent.

As with the other intellectual properties in its portfolio, CBI's plan is to out-license its new technology, while focusing its day-to-day operations on its core business in bio-defense, clinical laboratory support, and comprehensive platform technology contracts.

About CBI

Founded in 1992, CBI is located at 601 Biotech Drive, Richmond, VA 23235 (1-800-735-9224). CBI has provided comprehensive research and development services to more than 2,700 private, government, and academic customers in the global biotechnology industry. For more information, visit CBI on the web at www.cbi-biotech.com.

Any statements contained in this release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties as identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results, events, or performance may differ materially. No statement herein should be considered an offer of any securities. Such an offer can only be made in accordance with federal and applicable state securities laws. Readers are cautioned not to place undo reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date hereof. Specifically, there can be no guarantee that CBI will successfully license the technology or that any revenues will be generated. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward looking statements that may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.