Exten Industries (fka BB: EXTI)

[Patricia_1]

XenoTech presented at three 2004 conferences

To:Shawn Donahue who wrote (206)
From: Shawn Donahue Friday, Feb 27, 2004 1:55 PM
Respond to of 209

MultiCell Hepatocytes Presented by XenoTech LLC at Three 2004 Conferences
Thursday February 26, 8:30 am ET
WARWICK, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2004--Exten Industries Inc. (Exten) (OTCBB:EXTI - News) announced today that the highly functional immortalized human hepatocytes of its wholly owned subsidiary, MultiCell Technologies Inc. were introduced this month to conferences on both coasts.
The International Conference on Early Toxicity Screening was held Feb. 23-25, 2004, at the Mission Valley Marriott in San Diego by the Institute for Scientific Exchange. Albert Li, Ph.D. a former Exten Industries research associate, gave the conference overview, reiterating the PhRMA estimated cost of development of each new drug as $800 million. He also explained that many drugs fail in clinical trials or are withdrawn from development due to unexpected drug toxicity.

Andrew Parkinson, Ph.D., founder, president and CEO of Exten's marketing partner, XenoTech LLC, presented "Immortalized Hepatocytes: A New In Vitro Approach to Early Induction and Hepatotoxicity" in which he discussed MultiCell's new immortalized human hepatocyte line, which has the potential to solve the serious problem of supply and variability that restrict the use of human hepatocytes for in vitro studies including enzyme induction. Parkinson stated that current studies demonstrate that MultiCell's immortalized hepatocytes at least equal that of fresh human hepatocyte preparations for major inducible drug-metabolizing enzymes. MultiCell's hepatocytes demonstrate responses to toxicants as well as non-toxicants which conform to expected results, and allow for differentiation between toxicants and non-toxicants among the compounds tested and reflect concentration-dependence with toxicants.

On the East Coast, XenoTech exhibited at the Preclinical Development Forum at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, Mass. also held February 23-25. The theme of this forum was Applying Scientific Advances and Organizational Strategies at the Interface of Discovery and Development.

Previously this month, on February 11, Jessica B. Mills, Ph.D., associate scientist with Pfizer Inc. and Dr. Andrew Parkinson, presented "Induction of Major Cytochrome P450 Enzymes in Immortalized Human Hepatocytes" at the 5th Annual Forum on ADME/Tox in Philadelphia. The purpose of the conference was to discover ways to minimize attrition during the drug discovery process.

About Exten

Exten Industries Inc., through its subsidiaries MultiCell Technologies Inc. and Xenogenics Corp., provides hepatic (liver) cells and cell lines to pharmaceutical companies for drug discovery, and is developing cell-based toxicological and drug screening tests and biologics for use in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. MultiCell's cellular product expertise also enables production of liver-derived therapeutic proteins. Xenogenics is developing the Sybiol® synthetic bio-liver device. Exten's corporate and research headquarters are in Warwick. For more information about Exten and its subsidiaries, visit www.exten.com and www.multicelltechnologies.com.

The matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. These risks are detailed from time to time in the company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the company's Annual Report, Quarterly Reports and other periodic filings. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. The company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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Contact:
Exten Industries Inc.
Jerry Newmin, 401-384-6789

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Source: Exten Industries Inc.
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