QBIOGENE RAISES US$20 MILLION

(Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001) - Qbiogene Inc. "Qbiogene", announced today that it has successfully completed a private round of financing on December 22nd totaling $20 million.

The lead investor was Vertex Technology Fund (III) Pte Ltd. of Singapore. The Quebec Solidarity Fund and Investissements BioCapital as well as several international investors also gave their support to Qbiogene. They include: Double Helix Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Technologies (Singapore); New Medical Technologies (Basel, Switzerland); PolyTechnos Venture-Partners (Munich, Germany); Schweizerische Gesellschaft fur Aktienhandel & Research AG (Zurich, Switzerland); and Bio World Venture Capital Corporation (Taipei, Taiwan).

Chief Executive Officer Dr. Garth Cumberlidge commented that the company was extremely pleased by the strong support coming from present investors and the new international investment groups. "We are happy to have been able to successfully complete this round of financing despite difficult market conditions," he added

The proceeds from the financing will allow Qbiogene to further accelerate the expansion of its GMP manufacturing capabilities and introduce new product lines. The company will also continue its successful targeted acquisition strategy, adding both synergistic product portfolios and enabling technologies.

Qbiogene is a global biotechnology company manufacturing leading edge research tools and cGMP-grade nucleic acids and proteins for basic, applied and clinical research in functional genomics, gene therapy and gene delivery. Qbiogene operates in both North America and Europe through direct operations and a highly specialized network of key distributors.