Montreal, Quebec, January 12, 2000-Nexia Biotechnologies Inc. announces the birth of two BioSteelTM goats, named Webster and Peter, which represent a breakthrough in animal biotechnology and the first step towards the production of spider silk-based performance materials.

Spider web silk has been long recognized as being a premier biomaterial with many medical and industrial uses. Spider web silk combines phenomenal tensile strength (400,000 pounds per square inch), flexibility, light weight and biocompatability. However, until now, mankind has been deprived of spider web silk-based products because of an absolute constraint on supply - spiders, unlike silk worms, cannot be commercially farmed. Enter dairy goats with their prodigious ability to produce proteins in their milk in an environmentally friendly and sustainable fashion.

Webster and Peter are unique among goats because they have been confirmed to carry a single spider silk gene in their genetic make-up of 70,000 goat genes. Once sexually mature in the Spring of 2000, these two bucks will sire a large herd of dairy goats that will produce BioSteelTM silk proteins in their milk.

"Our early research with cell culture, then transgenic mice confirmed that BioSteelTM could be successfully produced in the milk without complications" says Costas Karatzas, Vice-President, Research & Development. Large scale production of BioSteel? will begin with the collection of milk from Webster and Peter's daughters in Q4, 2000. The BioSteelTM protein will be extracted from this milk and spun into fibres. Until then Nexia will continue to produce BioSteelTM using its cell culture system.

BioSteelTM fibres are being developed for two major markets: advanced industrial applications (ballistic protection; aerospace) and medical devices (wound closure systems; tissue engineering). The un-spun silk protein BioSilxTM is being developed for use directly in the cosmetics industry.

The application of industrial grade BioSteelTM for personal ballistic protection is being developed with the Canadian Armed Forces through the Defence Industry Research Programme. "High performance fibre that are lightweight, flexible and durable are central to superior personal ballistic protection equipment for the Canadian Forces", says Denis Faubert, Director General of the Defence Research Establishment Valcartier (DREV).

Nexia Biotechnologies Inc. is a privately-held Canadian corporation which uses animal biotechnology to produce, develop and commercialize novel proteins for use in the biomaterials and pharmaceutical fields. Nexia's facilities include a modern R&D laboratory and a Protein Production Facility, both near Montréal. Nexia's shareholders include Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Sofinov (a subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, MDS Capital Corp., Société Innovatech du Grand Montréal, Royal Bank Ventures Inc., and Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund.



Contributed by Anita Sands [astrology@earthlink.net]