Eugene "Gene" Mancino Appointed to the Board of Directors of Juvaris Biotherapeutics, Inc.

Pleasanton, CA - September 17, 2003
Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc. today announced the appointment of Gene Mancino as a Member of Juvaris' Board of Directors, effective immediately. In commenting on this appointment Martin D. Cleary, President and CEO of Juvaris said, "We welcome Gene to our Board of Directors. His extensive experience and biotech industry contacts will be especially important to the company going forward. Gene's skill set will also be beneficial to our new company's organizational development."

Eugene "Gene" Mancino is a founder and a partner in the firm of Mancino Burfield Edgerton, a life sciences executive search firm. Mr. Mancino began his career in the search industry in 1979 and has been responsible for recruiting key executives and Board Members. Mr. Mancino has been instrumental in working with clients to develop short-term and long-term human resource strategies, including compensation, health care programs, executive education and performance improvement. Clients range from major pharmaceutical companies to the portfolio companies of the venture capital community. His practice specialty is general management, finance, clinical development, business development and Board Members. Mr. Mancino has been an early investor in and a consultant to several life science companies and venture capital groups including Genteric, AviGenics, KBI, Taraval Associates and Mediphase Venture Partners L.P. Mr. Mancino is an active member of BIO and is often invited to participate as a panel member at major life science conferences. Prior to his career as an executive search consultant, Mr. Mancino worked for Procter and Gamble. Mr. Mancino earned his BA from Princeton University in 1978.

In commenting on the appointment, Mr. Mancino said, "I am delighted to join Juvaris' Board of Directors. The Management and Directors are optimistic about Juvaris' near-term and long-term prospects, and I look forward to being a part of this new company's development."

Juvaris BioTherapeutics was created in 2002 to develop immunotherapeutic treatments for infectious diseases and cancer using lipid-DNA complexes. The DNA in these complexes does not code for protein; instead, through a synergistic effect of being complexed with lipids, it strongly stimulates the immune system. In preclinical studies, these complexes have been shown to be up to 50-times more potent at triggering innate immune activation and interferon release than the best current immune stimulants. Research conducted at Juvaris BioTherapeutics, the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado and Colorado State University has also demonstrated that this system, when combined with antigens, produces extremely effective disease-specific vaccines.

About Juvaris BioTherapeutics
Juvaris is a privately held therapeutic vaccine company which owns exclusive rights to novel technology platforms developed by one of its scientific founders at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado. Given the demonstrated capabilities of its approach in extensive pre-clinical testing, the company believes this technology platform will lead to the development of superior therapeutic vaccines. Specific applications will include anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-cancer products. The Juvaris management team and its advisors have a proven track record in corporate venture financing; building shareholder value, and execution of strategies that realized substantial returns on investment for shareholders.

Company Contact:
Martin D. Cleary
Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc.
(925) 399-6200
mdcleary@juvaris.com