Advanced Life Sciences Files Investigational New Drug Application for Anti-Inflammatory Agent

Woodridge, Ill, June 27, 2002 - Advanced Life Sciences announced today that it has filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the Food and Drug Administration for the compound ALS-886. In preclinical testing, ALS-886 demonstrated a reduction in lung vascular tissue damage often associated with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and revealed no safety issues at the doses tested. ARDS can be a lethal complication of auto-destructive inflammation caused by sepsis, severe pneumonia, trauma and drug overdose and has a mortality rate in excess of 50%. Licensed from Baxter International, ALS-886 possesses unique characteristics which make it an excellent candidate to develop for the treatment of ARDS.

"ARDS is a syndrome of inflammation and increased pulmonary vascular permeability that results in severe lung damage. Oxidants released from cells during inflammation have been implicated in the cause of lung tissue damage associated with ARDS. Despite significant progress that has been made in recent years in the understanding of ARDS pathogenesis, and even with advances in technology, the mortality rate remains high," said Dr. Michael T. Flavin, CEO of Advanced Life Sciences.

The Company will evaluate the safety and tolerability of ALS-886 when administered to healthy volunteers and characterize the pharmacokinetic profile of ALS-886 when administered intravenously at each dose level.

"We are very excited about achieving this latest milestone in our drug development program," added Dr. Flavin. "We look forward to commencing human clinical trials on ALS-886."
Advanced Life Sciences (www.advancedlifesciences.com), based in Woodridge, Illinois, is a privately held drug development company that discovers and develops therapeutic compounds to fight infection, inflammation and cancer. The Company facilitates drug development between drug discovery and pharmaceutical commercialization, and focuses on diseases that have significant unmet medical needs in important markets.

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