Advanced Life Sciences Announces Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

Woodridge, IL, June 10, 2002 - Advanced Life Sciences announced today the appointment of John L. Flavin to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Flavin, a seasoned professional recognized for his experience in company building, public and private financing initiatives, and mergers and acquisitions, was formerly the Chief Operating Officer at MediChem Life Sciences, a subsidiary of deCODE genetics, Inc., a NASDAQ traded biotechnology company.

"I look forward to joining the Advanced Life Sciences team and utilizing my track record and experience in growing successful biotech start-ups to help the Company advance through the next stage of growth."

Dr. Michael T. Flavin, who will be devoting his full attention to his role as Chairman, CEO, and President of Advanced Life Sciences after successfully leading MediChem through its merger and smooth integration with deCODE genetics, said "John's skills in corporate financing and partnership development will be essential in achieving our strategic goals over the next few years."

At MediChem, the Flavin team took the company from start-up in 1987 through many stages of development including the successful completion of MediChem's $35M private placement with J.P. Morgan Capital Partners in 1999, the acquisition and integration of ThermoGen and Emerald Biostructures as MediChem subsidiaries, MediChem's October, 2000 $54M IPO, and the formation of the AXAS subsidiary and contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the COMCAT beamline at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. Today, MediChem has 170 employees, numerous partnerships with blue chip pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and chemical companies and operates out of its new state-of-the-art 110,000 square foot Woodridge Discovery Center.

Most recently, the Flavin team successfully negotiated and facilitated the merger process between MediChem and deCODE genetics, a Reykjavik, Iceland-based biotechnology company, for $83M in stock.

"Now that the integration process has been successfully completed with deCODE and MediChem, John and I will be focusing our energy and experience on taking Advanced Life Sciences to the next level. There is no doubt that Advanced Life Sciences has built a premier portfolio of clinical and preclinical drug candidates in infectious disease, cancer and inflammation. With additional capital, we believe that Advanced Life Sciences can become a premier drug development company over the next few years. John and I will bring complementary skills and experience to an already strong scientific and management team backed by a solid board of directors and an esteemed scientific advisory board."

Advanced Life Sciences, based in Woodridge, Illinois (www.advancedlifesciences.com) is a privately held drug development company that discovers and develops proprietary therapeutic compounds to fight infection, inflammation and cancer. The Company takes products from early stage development through clinical trials and focuses on diseases that have significant unmet medical needs in important markets.

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