The team, consisting of doctors and researchers from Zivena, The Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center, Battelle, and Siemens Medical Solutions, accepted the grant from Gov. Bob Taft Oct. 28.

The award also drew a commitment of an additional $13.5 million in commercial investment from the partners, bringing funding to a total of $21.5 million. The research focuses on improving prevention, detection, and treatment for lung cancer.

Zivena, Inc. is developing proprietary inhaled drugs for treating lung cancer. Its lead product, Resmycin™ (Doxorubicin HCl Inhalation Solution), is in Phase II clinical testing. In an ongoing Phase II trial, inhaled Resmycin is being used in combination with IV administered Cisplatin/Docetaxel as a first-line treatment in patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In a second Phase II trial, planned to start in early 2004, Resmycin will be used as a single agent to treat early-stage NSCLC.

"This grant gives us the funding to complete both Phase II trials which will give us the clinical confidence that Resmycin can be effective in treating lung cancer," said Dennis Cearlock, Zivena Chief Executive Officer. "We're encouraged that a panel from the National Academy of Sciences reviewed this program and ranked it number one out of 12 in scientific merit."

Dr. Greg Otterson at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center will be the principal investigator for both trials. "Improvements in chemotherapy for lung cancer treatment are greatly needed," Otterson said. "That's why we are so excited about the potential advances we can make by working with Zivena."

Zivena is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing inhaled oncology products. The company intends to develop a suite of inhaled, proprietary drugs for treating primary and metastatic lung tumors. Zivena has been issued method patents covering the use of several classes of chemotherapy drugs to treat cancer by inhalation. Drugs covered by these patents represent a source of proprietary products with different mechanisms of action and proven efficacy in treating cancer. The company also has a proprietary delivery system designed to accurately dose patients and to eliminate the emission of fugitive aerosols.

For more information, contact Dave Westaway at (614) 340-2370 or by e-mail at westaway@zivena.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements involving significant risks and uncertainties. Zivena conducts research in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical field where movement from concept to product is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular product candidate will be successful and become a commercial product. Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing, and other operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. In addition, future sales of our products are affected by reimbursement policies imposed by third party payors, including governments, private insurance plans, and managed care providers. These government regulations and reimbursement policies may affect the development, usage, and pricing of our products. In addition, while we have obtained patents for our products and technology, the protection offered by our patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented by our competitors. Because forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from current results expected by Zivena. Zivena is providing this information as of January 23, 2003, and expressly disclaims any duty to update information contained in this press release.