Archie's Corner

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ZKEM MAJOR NEWS RELEASE

(BSNS WIRE) Xechem Announces Discovery of Plant Extracts Active Against Hel
Xechem Announces Discovery of Plant Extracts Active Against Helicobactor
pylori, Vancomycin Resistant Bacteria and Methicillin Resistant Bacteria


Business/Health Editors

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2001--Xechem
International, Inc. (OTC BB: ZKEM) today announced it has discovered a
number of medicinal plant extracts from Peoples Republic of China (PR
China) and India showing excellent in vitro biological activity
against Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), Vancomycin resistant bacteria
and Methicillin resistant bacteria.
Helicobactor pylori has recently been found to be a primary cause
of gastro-intestinal ulcers in humans. Routinely, a doctor's treatment
for this condition may comprise using a triple drug therapy of
amoxicillin, clarithromycin and Prilosec(R) just to name a few of the
prescribed combinations available. One drawback to this present-day
treatment is the fact that many people are allergic to the antibiotic
amoxicillin, resulting in a need for an alternative therapy. Also
amoxicillin and clarithromycin may remove beneficial bacteria from the
gastro-intestinal tract. The plant extracts isolated by Xechem's
scientists are natural products that have the potential to be a
preferred medication in this important area of ulcer treatment.
Similarly, certain bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics
such as vancomycin and methicillin. Therefore many of the major
pharmaceutical companies are looking for products/compounds active
against these resistant bacteria. The Xechem's plant extracts have
shown excellent in-vitro results and current in-vivo studies are
progressing.
According to Xechem's President & CEO, Dr. Ramesh Pandey, "We are
very excited with these findings in the "anti-infective area".
Preliminary in-vivo animal studies have shown that these plant
extracts are non-toxic. Further work on these materials is continuing,
as well as discussions with several major pharmaceutical companies.
Meanwhile, Xechem has filed patent applications with the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office to protect its findings. The Company has been
researching in this important area of anti-infectives steadily for the
past six years. This area has just started budding and we expect it
will start bearing fruits in the near future."

Xechem International of New Brunswick, NJ, with subsidiary
companies in USA, India and joint venture partners in both Hong Kong
and Peoples Republic of China, is a biopharmaceutical company of which
Xechem, Inc. (a US subsidiary) is engaged in the research, development
and production of generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals from natural
sources, specializing in the development of niche, generic, difficult
to replicate anticancer, antiviral (including Human Immuno-deficiency
Virus, HIV) and antifungal compounds. The Company also screens
extracts and pure compounds from China and India for their therapeutic
use.
XetaPharm (another U.S. subsidiary) develops quality controlled
nutritional products as GinkgoOnce(R), GinsengOnce(R), GarlicOnce(R),
Gugulon(TM), and Co-Enzyme Q-10 and numerous products, which are under
development.(www.xetapharm.com)
This and past press releases of Xechem International, Inc. are
available at Xechem's web site at www.xechem.com.

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, which are intended to be covered by safe harbors created
hereby. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, including the ability of the Companies to
successfully develop and commercialize their technologies, and other
factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements
of the Companies to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements of the Companies expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements.

--30--jeh/ny* csm

CONTACT: Xechem International, New Brunswick
Dr. Ramesh C. Pandey, 732/247-3300.

KEYWORD: NEW JERSEY
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE BIOTECHNOLOGY MEDICAL

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