January 27, 2003

News Release: Tow Potential Drugs Discovered

Ecopia BioSciences Inc. announced the first two novel compounds discovered using its proprietary drug discovery platform. One of the compounds, ECO-02301, is a potential antifungal agent. The second, ECO-04601, is a potential anticancer agent. Patent applications have been filed for both compounds.
ECO-02301 represents a new structural class of antifungal agent. It is a polyketide possessing unique structural features that distinguish it from all other antifungal compounds. ECO-02301 has shown activity against a broad spectrum of pathogenic yeasts including strains resistant to currently used antifungal drugs. ECO-04601 includes an interesting structural feature called a farnesyl group. Farnesyl groups are known as post-translational modifiers required for activation of many cellular proteins, including the Ras oncogene. Preliminary data suggest that ECO-04601 is selectively active against certain human tumor cell lines in vitro. Ecopia is in the process of defining more extensive activity profiles for the two compounds.

Commenting on the news, Dr. Pierre Falardeau, President and Chief Executive Officer said: 'The discovery of these two initial compounds validates our platform and launches Ecopia into the next stage of its development. Both compounds have interesting features that qualify them for further study as potential drugs. However, the significance of these discoveries is not restricted to their pharmaceutical potential. We have now shown that our drug-discovery platform works and we can expect more compounds this year and for many years to come. This sets the stage for us to move further downstream into drug development and to begin growing a rich product pipeline. These are very exciting times at Ecopia.'

Ecopia is applying its proprietary genome scanning technology to a family of bacteria known as the Actinomycetes, which have been a major source of drugs to the pharmaceutical industry for more than fifty years. The objective is to discover antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer agents that could not be found using traditional discovery techniques and to develop them. A key objective of Ecopia in 2002 was to develop its chemistry capabilities in order to accelerate the drug discovery process. The compounds announced today are a direct result of those efforts.

Annual Results and Webcast

Tomorrow, January 28, 2003, Ecopia will be issuing a press release on its operating highlights and financial results for 2002. There will be a conference call and Webcast at 4:00 p.m. On the call, Dr. Pierre Falardeau, President and Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Gary Littlejohn, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, will discuss today's announcement as well as the operating highlights and the 2002 financial results. An archived version will be available shortly after the conference, for more information please go to www.ecopiabio.com

Ecopia BioSciences is leading the search for new antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer drugs from microorganisms. The Company applies proprietary genomic technologies to families of microorganisms that are known to produce drugs in order to rapidly discover and develop new small molecules with pharmaceutical potential. Ecopia's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: EIA).

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements, including the ability of the Company's drug discovery platform to provide more new drug candidates and the pharmaceutical potential of compounds ECO-02301 and ECO-04601 involve risk and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected here and depend on a number of factors, including scientific uncertainties relating to scientific hypotheses and experimental approaches in regard to the drug discovery platform, uncertainties related to the regulatory process for drug development and the success and timely completion of clinical studies and trials, and the impact of general economic conditions. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company appears in Ecopia's 2001 Annual Report.

CONTACT: TEL: (514) 336-2700 ext. 404 Ecopia BioSciences Inc.

Peter McBride, Vice-President,

Investor Relations and Communications

Internet: www.ecopiabio.com

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