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Protox signs exclusive Licence Agreement with Johns Hopkins University and the University of Victoria

Monday, October 25, 2004 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Protox Therapeutics Inc. announced today that it has signed an exclusive licence agreement with Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the University of Victoria (UVic) Innovation and Development Corporation (IDC). The licence grants Protox the worldwide rights to commercialize a genetically modified Aerolysin protein developed by the research institutions as a targeted therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer. The specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed but include payment of an upfront licensing fee as well as milestone and royalty payments. Protox had earlier signed an exclusive option agreement with both institutions covering this intellectual property and has now exercised this option to obtain the worldwide licence.

"This agreement represents a significant milestone for Protox and for our partners at John Hopkins University and the University of Victoria," said Tazdin Esmail, President & CEO of the Company. "We believe this agreement effectively secures the core intellectual property for our first product, PSA-PAH1, for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. We are currently conducting preclinical studies on PSA-PAH1 and anticipate filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in mid-2005 for clearance to initiate human trials. Data from these pre-clinical studies continues to suggest that PSA-PAH1 may offer a compelling alternative for the treatment of prostate cancer."

The principal inventors of the licensed intellectual property are Dr. Tom Buckley, the Chief Scientific Officer of Protox and a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Victoria, and Drs. Sam Denmeade and John Isaacs of John Hopkins University. Drs. Denmeade and Isaacs are professors in the Department of Oncology at the JHU School of Medicine

"UVic is proud to be the birthplace of Protox," says Dr. Tim Walzak, president of IDC, the UVic agency responsible for commercializing technology developed at UVic. "We're encouraged by the progress of Dr. Buckley and his team at Protox Therapeutics and IDC will continue to fully support Dr. Buckley and the other members of Protox management in taking the Aerolysin technology from the lab to commercial applications."

About Johns Hopkins University: Based in Baltimore, Maryland, internationally renowned Johns Hopkins University was the first research university in the United States. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is the largest recipient of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in the United States. Part of its mission is to provide international leadership in the education of physicians and medical scientists in biomedical research, and in the application of medical knowledge to sustain health.

About IDC: The University of Victoria Innovation and Development Corporation is responsible for commercializing technology developed at the University of Victoria. UVic is one of British Columbia's top three universities and provides the research base for Dr. Tom Buckley and his team.

About Protox: Protox Therapeutics Inc. is developing novel, cancer therapeutics based on modified proteins engineered from the naturally occurring bacterial toxin, Aerolysin. These modified Aerolysin proteins have demonstrated the ability to selectively target and kill cancer cells while leaving healthy "bystander" cells and tissues intact. The Company believes that its targeted approach may produce cancer therapeutics that have greater efficacy and fewer side effects than existing cancer treatments.

For more information, contact:
Terry Vanderkruyk
Director, Investor Relations, Protox Therapeutics Inc.
Tel: 604-688-4376
Cell: 604-789-0844
Fax: 604-688-0173
tvanderkruyk@protoxtherapeutics.com