May 27th

China grants patent protection to Microbix for its influenza vaccine yield enhancement technology

Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX:MBX) has been granted a patent by the State Intellectual Property Office of the People\'s Republic of China for its VIRUSMAX(TM) technology which enables egg-based vaccine manufacturers to significantly increase the amount of influenza vaccine they produce each year.

\"This is a very important emerging market for our discovery, so we\'re excited by this development as we now have strong patent protection in this country of 1.3 billion people,\" said William J. Gastle, CEO of Microbix. China is one of the largest countries in the world that does not have domestic manufacturing capacity to supply its population with seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine and would benefit from having access to this technology. VIRUSMAX(TM) has enormous implications for protecting more of the world\'s population during a pandemic. The entire annual global flu vaccine production capacity is currently only about 350 million doses.

There are now only four countries that produce enough vaccine to immunize their own populations - Canada, France, Belgium and Australia. Every other country lacks the manufacturing capacity to meet domestic needs. VIRUSMAX(TM) can enable manufacturers to at least double the amount of influenza vaccine they produce, reducing dependence on imported supplies.

VIRUSMAX(TM) can be implemented quickly and cost-effectively by manufacturers, allowing them to ramp up production in a matter of months.

The World Health Organization, in its Global Vaccine Action Plan, noted that if an influenza pandemic were to occur, the potential vaccine supply would fall far short of the amount needed. Among all the strategies outlined in the WHO\'s Action Plan, increased production yields was identified as \"the most direct mechanism to make more doses available.\"

VIRUSMAX(TM) has already been granted patents in Canada, the U.S., India and Australia. A number of other patent applications in major markets are currently pending.

Microbix specializes in developing proprietary biological technologies, including biotherapeutic drugs, vaccine technologies and animal reproduction technologies. It has been researching and developing the flu vaccine yield enhancement technology for a number of years, with a team at the company\'s Toronto laboratories spearheading these efforts.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements such as the risks associated with licensing the technology to vaccine manufacturers. These forward-looking statements represent the Company\'s judgment as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE: Microbix Biosystems Inc.

visit www.microbix.com; or contact: William J. Gastle, CEO, Microbix Biosystems Inc., (416) 234-1624 x 230; Robert Stephens, PR POST, (416) 777-0368