Forbes Provides Annual General Meeting Update.

Business Editors

VANCOUVER, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2001

Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. (Nasdaq:FMTI)(TSE:FMI.) announced that Mr. Donald Buxton, former President of Roussel Canada and Hoechst-Roussel Canada, and Dr. Joe Dunne, former President of Cultor Food Science and Quest (Food) International, were elected to the Company's Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, held Monday, January 29, 2001.

Re-elected to the Board of Directors were Percy Skuy, former President of Ortho-McNeil Inc.; Tazdin Esmail, President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes; Jack Miller, Executive Vice President of Forbes; and Charles Butt, Senior Vice President, Operations, of Forbes.

"The Company plans to appoint another independent Board member later this year to complement the skills and expertise of the present Board members," said Tazdin Esmail, President and Chief Executive Officer, Forbes Medi-Tech Inc.

Announcements and highlights from the Annual General Meeting include:

Phytrol(TM) Product Launches

Several third-party food and beverage companies in North America and internationally are continuing to undertake product and consumer research in several food and nutritional categories. Product commercialization, including the US test launch of the Altus line of food products containing Phytrol(TM), Forbes' cholesterol-lowering functional food ingredient, at this time is on schedule for mid-2001.

Fine Chemical Intermediates

In August 2000, Forbes concluded a Manufacturing Agreement with Fermic S.A. de C.V., the largest fermentation company in Mexico, for the manufacture of Androstenedione (AD) and Androstadienedione (ADD). Fermic has upscaled production to the 7,000 liter level and will progressively increase this capacity with a view reaching the 50,000 liter level in the latter part of 2001. Forbes is also continuing to work with Biovet (JSC) in Bulgaria on upscaling its production process.

AD and ADD are fine chemical intermediates used in the production of various steroid-based pharmaceuticals such as birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy and anti-inflammatory agents.

Forbes is currently shipping samples of AD to a number of major pharmaceutical companies and pharmaceutical supply companies for their evaluation. The Company plans to progress to commercial shipments to customers during the second half of this year.

Pharmaceutical Research and Development

CardioRex

Forbes is in the final stages of completing an FDA Phase II study of CardioRex(TM), the Company's cholesterol-lowering pharmaceutical product, on 70 men and women with mild hypercholesterolemia. The study is being conducted at the Chicago Center for Clinical Research. Monitoring of the study is in progress and the data is in the process of being analyzed by the statistical group. A final report, including data on both effectiveness and safety, of the study is expected to be available this spring.

FM-VP4

FM-VP4 is a new cardiovascular pharmaceutical compound under development by Forbes. The pre-clinical phase of the development of this novel cholesterol-lowering medication is nearing completion. In pre-clinical studies using apolipoprotein E-deficient mice, FM-VP4 was found to reduce cholesterol levels by 75 per cent, decrease blood fat (triglyceride) levels by 44 per cent, and reduce the formation of atherosclerotic lesion size by 75 per cent compared to the control group. Forbes' scientists have conducted additional animal studies in rodents and non-rodents and confirmed the desired pharmacological action i.e. significant cholesterol lowering. The formal toxicology studies are moving into a final stage and no safety issues have resulted from the mutagenicity, acute toxicology and sub-chronic toxicology studies completed thus far. The Company anticipates filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this year with the intention of commencing human studies toward the end of 2001.

Investigations are underway to further define the molecular mechanism by which the inhibition of cholesterol uptake is elicited in this novel class of hypolipidemic agents.

Financial Position

At the end of the Company's last fiscal quarter ending October 31, 2000, Forbes had $48 million in cash, short-term investments and receivables. With the Company's recent commitment towards the phytosterol manufacturing Joint Venture of approximately $US10 million and its current annual burn rate of approximately CND$12 million, Forbes estimates its cash reserve will be adequate to sustain the Company over the next 18 to 24 months. Preliminary projections indicate that the Company is expected to be in a cash positive position by the end of 2002.

"Forbes now has all the components in place to rapidly build a world-class health sciences company," Mr. Esmail told shareholders attending the AGM. "We have an internationally renowned research team, several promising compounds in our pharmaceutical pipeline and anticipate generating revenues this year from Phytrol(TM) and AD sales. We anticipate a very exciting and eventful year in 2001."

Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. is a diversified health sciences company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of innovative nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products derived from nature. By extracting plant sterols from pulping by-products, Forbes is developing cholesterol-lowering agents to be used both as functional food ingredients and pharmaceutical therapeutics in the battle against heart disease. Forbes is also developing innovative fermentation technology that converts plant sterols into pharmaceutical fine chemicals, essential in the production of various pharmaceutical steroids such as contraceptive agents and anti-inflammatories. Phytrol(TM) and CardioRex(TM) are trademarks of Forbes Medi-Tech Inc.

The NASDAQ National Market and the Toronto Stock Exchange have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this News Release. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "predict", "plans" or "continue" or the negative thereof or any other variations thereon or comparable terminology referring to future events or results. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, including the risk of technical obsolescence, intellectual property risks, marketing/manufacturing and partnership/strategic alliance risks, any of which could cause actual results to vary materially from current results or the Company's anticipated future results. See the Company's reports filed with the Toronto Stock Exchange and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time for cautionary statements identifying important factors with respect to such forward-looking statements, including certain risks and uncertainties, that could cause actual results to differ materially from results referred to in forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this press release.