Palatin Technologies Presents Positive Obesity Data at the Metabolic Diseases Drug Discovery & Development Summit.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BW HealthWire)--May 7, 2002

Palatin Technologies, Inc. (AMEX: PTN) announced today that they will present preclinical data at the Metabolic Diseases Drug Discovery & Development Summit in Philadelphia on May 7, 2002.

Annette Shadiack, PhD, Director, In Vivo Biological & Preclinical Research of Palatin, will be presenting "Novel Agonists at Melanocortin Receptors Decrease Feeding and Body Weight in Rats" as an invited speaker.

"Palatin has developed highly selective, high affinity melanocortin compounds that have been shown to be quite potent in reducing food intake and body weight in normal as well as obese rats," said Dr. Shadiack. "Our data demonstrated that in well controlled studies the reduction of food intake is a result of satiety induced by these compounds and not non-specific effects."

Melanocortin receptors or Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone Receptors (MSH-R), have been shown to regulate a diverse array of functions ranging from pigmentation, adrenocortical function, immune modulation, sexual arousal and energy maintenance. Particularly, MC4-R has recently been identified as an important regulating mechanism for appetite, body weight and insulin secretion which represents a novel target for the treatment of obesity and diabetes. Earlier research by others indicates that mice that either over express a melanocortin receptor antagonist, or lack the melanocortin-4 receptor are obese. Research done on human families with morbidly-obese members have shown coincidental genetic defects in their melanocortin-4 receptor. Palatin's compounds currently in preclinical development for the treatment of obesity selectively activate the MC4 receptor and were developed at Palatin using its proprietary drug development platform technology, MIDAS(TM).

"The over abundance of targets in our industry requires improved methods in rational drug design. Using our MIDAS technology we were able to synthesize these compounds and achieve preclinical success," said Perry Molinoff, MD Executive Vice President Research and Development at Palatin. "Palatin's ongoing research with the MIDAS technology has positioned the Company to address this industry-wide need. Palatin is now currently developing MIDAS-based compounds to treat a range of indications from obesity to inflammation, sexual dysfunction, and cancer."

Obesity is a worldwide health problem. In the United States it affects more than 25 percent of adults. It poses a serious health threat with 280,000 adult deaths in the United States each year attributable to obesity.

MIDAS is a proprietary rational synthetic chemistry platform that allows Palatin to routinely design and synthesize novel pharmaceuticals that mimic the activity of peptides. These MIDAS molecules are simple to synthesize, chemically and proteolytically stable, and have the potential to be orally bioavailable. In addition, MIDAS molecules are information-rich and provide data on structure-activity relationships. Unlike most other drug discovery approaches, MIDAS can be used to generate either receptor antagonists (drugs that block a particular metabolic response) or agonists (drugs that promote a particular metabolic response).

About Palatin Technologies, Inc.

Palatin Technologies, Inc. (AMEX: PTN) is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and development of compounds to treat obesity, inflammation, cancer and sexual dysfunction. Based on its proprietary technology, MIDAS(TM), the Company aims to design compounds that interact with the melanocortin (MC) family of receptors. MC receptors regulate a diverse array of functions ranging from pigmentation, adrenocortical function, immune modulation, sexual arousal and energy maintenance. The company is currently conducting clinical investigations with its lead drug, PT-141, for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, and is developing additional therapeutic compounds discovered using its enabling peptide platform technology MIDAS(TM). Additionally, Palatin is developing a product for infection imaging, LeuTech(R), based on a proprietary radiolabeled monoclonal antibody. For further information visit the Palatin web site at www.palatin.com.

Statements about the Company's future expectations, including development and regulatory plans, and all other statements in this document other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby.

Palatin's actual results may differ materially from its historical results of operations and those discussed in the forward-looking statements for various reasons, including, but not limited to the Company's ability to carry out its business plan, successful development and commercial acceptance of its products, ability to fund development of technology, the risk that products may not result from development activities, protection of its intellectual property, ability to establish and successfully complete clinical trials for product approval, need for regulatory approvals, dependence on it partners for development of certain projects, and other factors discussed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is not responsible for events not updated after the date on this press release.