Imutec Pharma Changes Name To Lorus Therapeutics

Imutec Pharma, Inc. has changed its name to Lorus Therapeutics, Inc., representing the culmination of a corporate turnaround over the last couple of years and signifying the Company's focus on developing effective cancer therapies.

Philippe G. Lacaille, president and CEO of Lorus, views the introduction of Lorus Therapeutics as the latest step in moving the Company's focus towards advancing cancer therapy. Over the past 18 months he said, Lorus has hired experienced drug development personnel, established academic and corporate partnerships and in-licensed an anti-cancer portfolio (NuChem analogues) from Harvard Medical School.

Other achievements include:

• a Research Agreement with Harvard Medical School to discover additional anti-cancer compounds
• a Research Agreement with the US National Cancer Institute for the pre-clinical screening of the NuChem analogues
• an Agreement with Torcan Chemical for the manufacture of the Company's new products
• the allowance of major US patent claims covering the anti-proliferative effect of many of the NuChem analogues
• positive Phase I/II clinical trial results in pancreatic cancer
• additional preclinical data for Virulizin and the approval of Virulizin in Mexico for the treatment of malignant melanoma
• the receipt of 2 Canadian patents covering Virulizin and its use in the treatment of cancer
• the endorsement and support of the Canadian HIV Trials Network regarding the Company's Phase I/II Kaposi's sarcoma trial.

For more information: Paul W. Truscott, Jr., Corporate Communications, Lorus Therapeutics, Inc., 1285 Morningside Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, M1B 3W2. Telephone: 416-724-1509, ext. 251. Fax: 416-724-1167.