Biotech pioneer to relocate to the Charleston region of South Carolina

Blacksburg, VA, May 30, 2002 – CropTech Corporation, an emerging leader in biotech manufacturing, announced today plans to relocate its operations from Blacksburg, VA to the Mt. Holly Business Park in Berkeley County near Charleston, South Carolina. Today’s announcement was facilitated by the State of South Carolina, Berkeley County, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance and Johnson Development Associates, among other supportive South Carolina interests.

CropTech is commercializing its patented protein manufacturing technology, which uses specially prepared tobacco plants as molecular “factories” to produce biotech therapies for human diseases. The company employs this breakthrough technology for a growing list of clients, including leading biotech companies, such as Amgen and Immunex, as well as for its own development of therapies for cancer and other diseases.

“CropTech’s creation of its headquarters and large-scale manufacturing facility in the Charleston area is an exciting milestone in the process of establishing the company’s position as a leader in the bio-manufacturing market, a market increasingly driven by explosive demand,” said Robin Radin, President & CEO of the company. “CropTech’s supply of expanded manufacturing capacity is bound to attract many additional biotech companies as production partners and serve as a magnet for such firms to join us in South Carolina, in order to access our crucial services.”

CropTech expects to employ 40 people during the first year of operations in South Carolina and to grow to at least 110 employees by 2004.

Governor Jim Hodges welcomed CropTech to South Carolina. “This clean, high-tech industry has unlimited potential in South Carolina. CropTech will help the farming community and create high-tech jobs for both rural and metropolitan areas, while providing therapeutic proteins that are in increasing demand. The innovative medical therapeutics being developed by CropTech and its clients may soon save or prolong our lives.”

“CropTech’s announcement confirms that our state has the elements a thriving biotech company needs to reach its next level of success,” added Commerce Secretary Charles S. Way, Jr. “CropTech has great potential to immediately create biotech jobs and employ tobacco growers to grow transgenic tobacco that will benefit us all. We are delighted to call CropTech our newest member of Team South Carolina.”

“CropTech represents the kind of company we are working to attract to this region,” said George Tupper, chairman of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. “The company’s unique processes and creative approaches will provide top quality jobs for area residents, and its research will help improve the lives of people around the world.”

“There is an interesting symmetry in today’s announcement,” said Jim Rozier, Berkeley County supervisor and county council chairman. “We see tobacco, long an economic staple in our region, being used now for biomedical research right here in the Lowcountry. Welcome, CropTech – we look forward to seeing wonderful discoveries taking shape for you here.”

William S. “Sandy” White, chairman of the board of directors of CropTech, expressed his support for the move. “This region is fast becoming a major center for biotechnology. We are convinced that the many supportive resources of Charleston and South Carolina will help CropTech achieve its ambitious goals. Our thanks to the state for their enthusiasm in welcoming us to South Carolina and their intense interest in building a biotech industry there.”

Construction of CropTech’s planned $40 million, 115,000 square foot facility will begin in June, 2002. The first phase of the project, including administrative, laboratory and upstream bio-processing facilities, is expected to be completed later this year.

CropTech has developed and patented a highly innovative plant-based gene expression technology for the large-scale manufacture of bio-therapeutic proteins. CropTech employs this enabling technology in the development and production of its own proprietary products and those targeted by its commercial clients. With the combined benefits of lower capital investment, lower cost-of-goods, quicker development times, greater speed and ease of scale-up and reduced regulatory and safety concerns, CropTech’s proprietary MeGA-PharMTM System offers an attractive solution to the increasing manufacturing capacity shortfall for recombinant therapeutic proteins that threatens the future of the entire biotech industry.