Journal Article Reports Lab Studies Showing BioTime's Hextend Better Protects Blood's Ability to Clot.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--March 7, 2000

BioTime, Inc. (AMEX:BTX) announced today that laboratory studies showed that when rabbit blood is diluted outside the body as much as 3:1 with Hextend(R), BioTime's proprietary blood plasma volume expander, the blood begins clotting as quickly as undiluted blood.

In a peer-reviewed paper appearing in the March 2000 edition of Anesthesia & Analgesia entitled "Extreme Hemodilution in Rabbits: An In Vitro and In Vivo Thromboelastographic(R) Analysis", Dr. Vance Nielsen compared Hextend's ability to support blood clotting with other commercially used plasma volume expanders. Although the clotting speed, as well as the strength of the clots, were both reduced due to dilution outside the body, these reductions were significantly less with Hextend than when other plasma volume expanders were used.

Clotting ability was assessed using a Thromboelastograph(R), an instrument designed to measure specific aspects of clot formation. Dr. Nielsen also showed that calcium, present in Hextend in concentrations similar to that of blood, may play an important role in this ability.

"Hextend may be an ideal fluid for use in replacing lost blood volume, as its physiologically balanced electrolyte composition is designed to more closely reflect that of blood plasma than some of the older solutions used to treat blood loss during surgery," said Dr. Nielsen, a member of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "BioTime's PentaLyte(R), another physiologically balanced plasma expander which is expected to soon enter clinical testing, also showed a favorable blood clotting profile."

Dr. Paul Segall, BioTime's chairman and chief executive officer, said that "Hextend's ability to replace blood volume lost during surgery is very important, given the growing shortage of blood available for transfusion. Many bloodless surgery centers are now using large volumes of plasma expanders and cell saver devices to enable surgical patients to avoid transfusions."

Hextend is currently being offered for sale in the United States to treat blood volume lost during surgery. BioTime, headquartered in Berkeley, is engaged in the research and development of blood plasma volume expanders, blood replacement solutions during hypothermic (low temperature) surgery, organ preservation solutions and technology for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment, the preservation of organs awaiting transplant, and other applications. Information about BioTime can be found on the web at www.biotimeinc.com.

The matters discussed in this press release include forward-looking statements which are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to BioTime's ability to obtain regulatory approval to market its products; competition from products manufactured and sold or being developed by other companies; the price of and demand for its products; the ability to negotiate favorable foreign licensing or other manufacturing and marketing agreements for its products; the availability of ingredients used in its products; and the availability of reimbursement for the cost of new products (and related treatment) from government health administration authorities, private health coverage insurers and other organizations. These and other risk factors are discussed in BioTime's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.