ENCOURAGING RESULTS FROM RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS STUDY.

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANPI; TSE:ANP), Vancouver, British Columbia, has announced encouraging results from its Phase 1 clinical study using Micellar Paclitaxel for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study was conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Arizona.

In 1998, Angiotech initiated the Phase 1 study of patients between 21 to 75 years of age who presented with Class I to III of RA severity and have failed treatment with at least one disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD), such as methotrexate. Patients received monthly treatments for six months as well as six months of follow-up. Patients that were eligible received placebo or Micellar Paclitaxel at one of two different doses (25 mg/m2 and 50 mg/m2) - the same dosing schedule that was used in the company's successful Phase 1/2 clinical study using Micellar Paclitaxel to treat patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

The drug was determined to be safe and well-tolerated in all 15 patients enrolled in the Phase 1 study. Of those patients treated with Micellar Paclitaxel that completed the study, 25% had a clinical response defined by a series of measures consistent with the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20% improvement criteria. For a patient to meet this criteria, the patient must have at least 20% improvement in tender and swollen joint counts and must improve by at least 20% in three of five of the remaining core set measures which include: physician's and patient's global assessment of disease activity, patient's assessment of pain and physical function, and an acute-phase reactant value.

"Given that anticancer drugs, such as methotrexate, are first-line agents in the treatment of RA, we felt that an effective chemotherapeutic drug like paclitaxel deserved to be investigated in patients with this condition," said William L. Hunter, MD, MSc, Angiotech's Chairman and CEO. "Having met the primary objective of safety and tolerability in all of the patients, and having found an apparent clinical benefit to some, we are looking forward to embarking upon a larger Phase 2 clinical study in 2001."

Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating, chronic inflammatory disease affecting one to two percent of the world's population. People with advanced RA have a mortality rate greater than some forms of cancer, resulting in treatment regimens shifting towards aggressive early disease-modifying therapy, including the use of anticancer drugs, to reduce irreversible joint damage. The estimated 1999 world DMARD market is US$1.0 billion.

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a Canadian pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of medical device coatings and treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases through reformulation of the anticancer drug, paclitaxel. Three pharmaceutical therapies are in clinical development: systemic Micellar Paclitaxel for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (Phase 2), systemic Micellar Paclitaxel for rheumatoid arthritis (Phase 1) and Topical Paclitaxel Gel for psoriasis (Phase 1). The paclitaxel-coated coronary stent program also entered human studies. Other medical device programs include paclitaxel-loaded surgical implants for the treatment of restenosis associated with peripheral vascular surgery and for the treatment of proliferative ocular conditions.

For more information, call [phone] or visit http://www.angiotech.com.