GeneMedicine Awarded Four New Gene Therapy Patents.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas--(BW HealthWire)--July 17, 1998-- GeneMedicine Inc. (NASDAQ:GMED) announced today that it has recently been awarded four United States patents covering certain aspects of gene therapy technology. "Plasmid for Delivery of Nucleic Acids and Methods of Use" (U.S. 5,763,270) was awarded to GeneMedicine Inc. "Human and Mouse Very Low Density Lipoprotein Receptors and Methods for Use of Such Receptors" (U.S. 5,750,367); "Expression Vector Systems and Methods of Use" (U.S. 5,756,264) and "Somatic Gene Therapy to Cells Associated with Fluid Spaces" (U.S. 5,770,580) were awarded to Baylor College of Medicine of Houston, Texas ("Baylor"). GeneMedicine has an exclusive license to the Baylor patents.

Eric Eastman, Ph.D. and Ross Durland, Ph.D., of GeneMedicine, developed a manufacturing technology that eliminates the need for antibiotics in the production of non-viral gene therapy products. This process improvement should enhance the safety features of gene therapy products. The patent, "Gene Therapy Plasmid for Delivery of Nucleic Acids and Methods of Use" (U.S. 5,763,270), claims a method for the elimination of antibiotics during the manufacture of non-viral gene therapy products.

Fred Ledley, M.D., a founder of GeneMedicine, while at Baylor developed a method of gene delivery to the eye. He is the inventor on the related patent "Somatic Gene Therapy to Cells Associated with Fluid Spaces" (U.S. 5,770,580) that broadly claims a method of gene delivery to the eye.

Drs. Robert Schwartz, Franco DeMayo, and Bert O'Malley, all of Baylor, developed the technology described in the patent "Expression Vector Systems and Methods of Use" (U.S. 5,756,264) that claims the use of tissue specific gene regulation elements. The use of such elements in gene therapy would restrict gene expression to specific tissues within the body and enhance the specificity of gene therapy to the targeted organ or tissue. Drs. Schwartz and O'Malley are both founders of GeneMedicine.

GeneMedicine is the exclusive licensee to patent rights to the gene that encodes the Very Low Density Lipoprotein receptor (VLDLr). Lawrence Chan, M.D. of Baylor is the inventor on the patent "Human and Mouse Very Low Density Lipoprotein Receptors and Methods for Use of Such Receptors" (U.S. 5,750,367) that claims the VLDLr gene and a method of gene therapy treatment to lower high cholesterol levels and offers a potential gene therapy approach to treating certain cardiovascular diseases.

"GeneMedicine has built one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios in the industry," stated Norman Hardman, Ph.D., president and chief operating officer of GeneMedicine. "In addition to the recently issued patents, GeneMedicine currently has rights to over 65 issued domestic and foreign patents, and 250 patent applications, covering key elements of gene therapy technology, including issued U.S. and European claims that broadly cover the use for gene therapy of any cationic lipid combined with DNA and administered by injection or inhalation, the most common routes of administration."

GeneMedicine is a leader in the development of non-viral gene therapy products designed for the treatment or prevention of serious diseases. Gene medicines deliver genetic instructions to targeted cells in the body to produce therapeutic proteins or desired immune responses. The Company's core technology includes lipid-, polymer-, and peptide-based gene delivery systems, each able to be applied to specific clinical targets, and gene expression systems to regulate the production of multiple genes. GeneMedicine technology is potentially applicable to the treatment of a wide variety of diseases and disorders because of its capability to deliver therapeutic genes to several tissue and cell types and to control the expression of desired proteins.

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include continued scientific progress in its research and development programs, the costs involved in the filing, prosecuting and enforcing of patent claims, the scope and results of preclinical testing and clinical trials, the time and costs involved in obtaining regulatory approvals, competing technological developments, the cost of manufacturing and scale-up and effective commercialization activities and arrangements. These factors and others are more fully discussed in periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the Company=s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1997.

CONTACT: GeneMedicine Inc., The Woodlands

Richard A. Waldron, 281/364-1150

www.gmed.com