New Findings in Stem Cell Cultivation and Lymphoma Vaccine Development Are Highlighted at American Society of Hematology Conference.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

American Society of Hematology Conference

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 11, 2001

At the 43rd Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), Large Scale Biology Corporation (Nasdaq: LSBC) reported scientific news in three important areas: cancer vaccines, stem cell biology and the development of a new research product for cultivating adult bone marrow cells. The encouraging findings underscored LSBC's commitment to applying its unique platform technologies in gene expression and protein science to develop new products. "Our strong presence at ASH further demonstrates Large Scale Biology's commitment to oncology, hematology and immunotherapy and a new thrust on development of novel products for biomedical research," said LSBC Chairman and CEO Robert L. Erwin.

The Company reported its progress in the development of personalized cancer vaccines to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), including the latest results from its clinical trial. Alison McCormick, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, summarized LSBC's progress with lymphoma vaccines produced by LSBC's proprietary GENEWARE(R) plant viral vector technology. These vaccines are tumor-specific and demonstrate the feasibility of customizing therapy to the needs of individual patients. To date, LSBC has been able to manufacture vaccines for nearly 90% of patients that qualified for clinical treatment and has been able to deliver vaccines to the clinic in as little as six weeks from receiving biopsy material. In contrast, more conventional vaccine manufacturing procedures require many months. In her presentation, Dr. McCormick reported on the excellent safety profile observed to date with LSBC's vaccines administered to human patients in an ongoing Phase I clinical trial. Based on encouraging, preliminary response data from the first cohorts of the Phase I study, LSBC intends to conduct one or more Phase II studies during 2002.

In a subsequent presentation, Dr. McCormick reported positive results from tests of LSBC's proprietary endothelium-derived hematopoietic factor (EDHF) as a stimulant of the immune response in preclinical cancer vaccine animal studies. Her research with EDHF was based on groundbreaking work by LSBC's Thomas Davis, Ph.D., Director, Immunology and Stem Cell Biology, who for the past several years has been engaged in the field of adult blood stem and progenitor cell research. In the first of two presentations, Dr. Davis discussed the application of LSBC's EDHF for the reliable production of large quantities of pre-dendritic myelomonocytic progenitor cells from human CD34+ hematopoietic cells in vitro. This work has important implications for the oncology and hematology research community because EDHF, as a single agent, can generate large quantities of multipotential progenitor cells from which other blood lineages may be derived. In his second presentation, Dr. Davis reported exciting new results on EDHF's ability to enhance hematopoiesis and significantly expand murine antigen presenting cell (APC) progenitors in vivo, including dendritic cell (DC) progenitors, a process which could directly aid research to improve the efficiency of all vaccines. Because the ability to generate active DC in vivo has traditionally been difficult, Dr. Davis' findings have important implications for oncology, hematology and immunotherapy research. EDHF, as a single agent, ultimately could improve the efficiency of several types of medical procedures.

A related presentation was made by John Chute, M.D., LSBC's Senior Director, Clinical Research, on behalf of the NIDDK/Navy TAB, his former affiliation. Dr. Chute had previously collaborated with LSBC in hematology and growth factor research for the development of new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of radiation and chemical exposure through a cooperative R&D agreement between LSBC and the Naval Medical Research Center. Dr. Chute reported on the proliferation and engraftment of human bone marrow-derived CD34+ cells in SCID/NOD mice after exposure of these cells to brain-derived microvascular endothelial cells in a co-culture procedure.

By pursuing the two-tiered approach of cellular therapy and soluble growth factors to the generation of blood stem and progenitor cells ex vivo and in vivo, LSBC plans to contribute to the understanding of hematopoiesis and the ultimate development of new research and therapeutic products.

The ASH conference was the venue for the preview launching of LSBC's new product, PLURIGEN(TM) CM, a proprietary formulation containing stabilized EDHF and intended for cell culture research applications. Several features make PLURIGEN(TM) CM unique among early growth factors: activity as a single agent, high potency, and broad species range. PLURIGEN(TM) CM can induce proliferation of human CD34+ cells 1000-fold within 21 days when used as the single stimulus, in sharp contrast to the conventional requirement of using mixtures of cytokines to achieve comparable results. In fact, PLURIGEN(TM) CM is over 100-fold more potent than optimal concentrations of known cytokine cocktails. PLURIGEN(TM) CM also acts on a wide variety of mammalian progenitor cells, including those obtained from adult human, primate, pig and mouse, making the product suitable for a wide range of research studies.

About Large Scale Biology Corporation

Large Scale Biology uses its proteomics, functional genomics and biomanufacturing technologies to develop and manufacture personalized drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for rapid identification and effective treatment of disease. Corporate offices and the Genomics operations are headquartered in Vacaville, California; the Company's Proteomics operations are located in Germantown, Maryland; and the Company's bioprocessing and manufacturing facilities are located in Owensboro, Kentucky. For more information about Large Scale Biology Corporation, visit the Company's website at www.lsbc.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current plans, expectations, estimates, and projections and management's beliefs about our future performance. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" or variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and which may cause our actual results and performance to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in any such forward-looking statements. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties see the reports filed by Large Scale Biology Corporation with the Securities Exchange Commission. Unless required by law, Large Scale Biology Corporation undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements.

Note to Editors: GENEWARE(R), LSBC(TM) and PLURIGEN(TM) are trademarks of Large Scale Biology Corporation.