December 4, 2003

News Release: Hemosol And ProMetic Biosciences Form Strategic Alliance For Production and Commercialization of Plasma-based Proteins

Hemosol Inc. announced that it has forged the principle terms of a strategic alliance with ProMetic Biosciences Ltd. a wholly owned subsidiary of ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI) that will include Hemosol in-licensing the novel plasma separation technology developed by ProMetic and its strategic partner, the American National Red Cross ('American Red Cross').

Key elements of the strategic alliance include:

- Hemosol obtaining from ProMetic the exclusive North American license for the novel cascade purification process developed by ProMetic and the American Red Cross (the 'Cascade') to recover valuable proteins from human plasma; - The implementation and optimisation of the Cascade at Hemosol's state-of-the-art Meadowpine manufacturing facility in Mississauga, Ontario;

- The commitment in principle of the American Red Cross to supply raw material to Hemosol for processing and the purchase from Hemosol of specific therapeutic products isolated using the Cascade; and

- Co-ordinated business activity by Hemosol and ProMetic to generate revenue for both Companies following the successful implementation of the Cascade at the Meadowpine facility by: - Providing clinical trial material to the American Red Cross and other potential licensees of Cascade outside of North America; and - developing markets for both therapeutic and non-therapeutic plasma products produced by Hemosol employing the Cascade; and - identifying, developing and exploiting commercial opportunities in addition to those available from the use of Cascade.

'This exciting new opportunity to participate in the market for proven therapeutic blood products with demonstrated demand, enhances and dovetails with our ongoing development of oxygen therapeutics such as HEMOLINK as well as our drug development pipeline,'said Lee Hartwell, Hemosol's President & CEO. 'We believe that this strategic alliance with ProMetic combined with the commitment in principle of the American Red Cross, brings together the technology and commercial relationships necessary to establish Hemosol as a leading manufacturer of next-generation blood proteins and related products'.

'The formation of this strategic alliance between Hemosol and ProMetic is the ideal platform to exploit the technology developed by the American Red Cross and ProMetic,'stated Chris Lamb, Chief Operating Officer of the American Red Cross Plasma Services. 'In light of Hemosol's considerable capabilities in this area, it is our goal to work closely with Hemosol through the implementation and approval phase for the Cascade and, once completed, to rely on Hemosol as a key supplier for new and novel therapeutic protein requirements.'

The annual market for proteins capable of being isolated using the Cascade was approximately US $5.6 billion in 2002, this market is expected to increase to US $6 billion in 2005(1). Hemosol is the first licensee of this technology and will be its exclusive user to manufacture products for sale into the North American market - the largest single market for plasma-based proteins. Commercial sales of therapeutic products manufactured by Cascade will require the advance approval of the applicable regulatory agency in each jurisdiction where sales are contemplated.

The Cascade process was developed under the existing strategic alliance between ProMetic and the ARC that was formed in February, 2002. This novel process integrates proven technologies to significantly improve the yield and product recovery of valuable proteins isolated from human plasma. Given the significantly improved yields and efficiency of the Cascade process, the commercial driver underlying the technology is its ability to potentially narrow the increasing gap between the growing demand for these products and the inherent limitations in traditional fractionation procedures.

'This is a true win-win alliance for all parties - the potentially paradigm shifting and proven technology developed by ProMetic and the American Red Cross will be paired with Hemosol's considerable experience with blood products and state-of-the-art Meadowpine facility,'said Pierre Laurin, President & CEO, Prometic Life Sciences. 'Given the potential of the Cascade to dramatically increase the yield of plasma derived next-generation therapeutic proteins, we look forward to continuing to execute our strategy of building a broad-based international network of licensees for this important technology.'

In order to fix the principle commercial terms of this strategic alliance, Hemosol and ProMetic have executed a binding memorandum of understanding ('MoU'). As consideration for entering into this binding MoU and the commencement of implementation activities by the parties, Hemsol has agreed to issue 2.0 million common shares to ProMetic, subject to regulatory approval. Hemosol has also agreed to pay ProMetic a staged license fee with an aggregate value of approximately $16.5 million, payable

over approximately four years. Part of this fee will be satisfied by the issuance to ProMetic of 1.0 million Hemosol common shares, subject to the receipt of all regulatory approvals, upon the execution of the definitive license agreement. Hemosol will also pay a pre-determined royalty to ProMetic on the sale of products isolated using the Cascade.

In addition to full-scale commercial production in North America, Hemosol is positioned to secure supplementary revenues by supplying clinical trial material to future Cascade licensees worldwide. The Company plans to target this incremental revenue opportunity by leveraging its early entrance into the market for Cascade-derived products as well as its Meadowpine manufacturing facility. Access to clinical material by subsequent licensees will be key to accelerating the approval processes for these products with various national regulators.

Hemosol also continues to develop its core oxygen therapeutic HEMOLINK(TM) (hemoglobin raffimer). The use of Meadowpine to manufacture products under the agreement with ProMetic will not interfere with current development programs. The Company is advancing non-clinical analysis of HEMOLINK that includes both in vitro and in vivo studies. Hemosol's goal is

to review progress in these studies with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in early 2004 with the aim of getting HEMOLINK off clinical hold by the fourth quarter of next year.

Conference Call

Hemosol, Prometic and the American Red Cross will host a conference call to discuss this strategic alliance at 10 a.m. today, December 4, 2003. Participating on the call will be Messrs Lee Hartwell, President & CEO Hemosol Inc., Pierre Laurin, President & CEO ProMetic Life Sciences Ltd., and Chris Lamb, Chief Operating Officer, American Red Cross Plasma Services. The dial-in numbers for the conference call are 1-800-273-9672 or 416-695-5806 (reference No. 1508631). The call will be audio-cast live and archived for 90 days at www.hemosol.com, www.prometic.com and www.financialdisclosure.ca.

About ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.

ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. is a world-scale biopharmaceutical company with headquarters in Montreal, additional facilities in the U.K. and a marketing presence in the U.S.A. ProMetic specializes in research, development, manufacture and marketing of a variety of commercial applications from its proprietary platform technologies, which are used in the development of therapeutics, the elimination of pathogens, proteomics and large-scale drug purification. www.prometic.com.

About Hemosol Inc.

Hemosol is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and manufacturing of biologics, particularly blood-related proteins. The Company has a broad range of novel therapeutic products in development, including HEMOLINK(TM) (hemoglobin raffimer), an oxygen therapeutic designed to rapidly and safely improve oxygen delivery via the circulatory system. Hemosol also is developing additional oxygen therapeutics, a hemoglobin-based drug delivery platform to treat diseases such as hepatitis C and cancers of the liver, and a cell therapy program initially directed to the treatment of cancer. Hemosol intends to leverage its expertise in manufacturing blood proteins and its state-of-the-art Meadowpine manufacturing facility to seek additional strategic growth opportunities. www.hemosol.com

Hemosol Inc.'s common shares are listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the trading symbol 'HMSL'and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol 'HML'.

HEMOLINK is a registered trademark of Hemosol Inc.

(1) Market Bureau Research Inc.

Certain statements concerning Hemosol's future prospects are 'forward- looking statements'under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There can be no assurances that future results will be achieved, and actual results could differ materially from forecasts and estimates. Important factors that could cause Hemosol's actual results to differ materially from forecasts and estimates include, but are not limited to: the successful and timely completion of the preclinical and clinical development of its products; Hemosol's ability to obtain regulatory approvals for its products; Hemosol's ability to manufacture or have manufactured its product in commercial quantities and at competitive costs; the competitive environment for therapeutic and non-therapeutic protein products derived from human blood; the ability to obtain adequate funding under acceptable terms to complete its development programs; and other factors set forth in filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties, as well as others, are discussed in greater detail in the filings of Hemosol with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Hemosol makes no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date any such statement is made.



CONTACT: TEL: (416) 361-1331 or 800-789-3419 Jason Hogan, Investor & Media

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