Cangene announces amendment to normal course issuer bid

    
    Readers are referred to the cautionary notes regarding Forward-
    looking Information at the end of this release

    Listed TSX, Symbol: CNJ
    

TORONTO and WINNIPEG , Nov. 12 /CNW/ - Cangene Corporation (the "Corporation") today announces that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") has approved an amendment to the Corporation's Normal Course Issuer Bid (the "Bid") to increase the maximum number of common shares of the Corporation ("Common Shares") available for purchase under the Bid from 1,000,000 Common Shares to 1,500,000 Common Shares, representing 2.19% of the outstanding Common Shares on April 20, 2009 , which is the date of the Notice of Intention to Make a Normal Course Issuer Bid. At April 20, 2009 , there were 68,481,670 Common Shares issued and outstanding.

The average daily trading volume for the six months preceding April 20, 2009 was 50,372 Common Shares. Except for block purchases, the daily repurchase restriction during the course of the bid is 12,593 Common shares, which is 25% of the average daily trading volume.

The Bid commenced on April 25, 2009 and will expire on April 24, 2010 . Purchases are made through the facilities of The Toronto Stock Exchange at prevailing market prices. Any Common Shares purchased by the Corporation under the bid will be cancelled. Since the commencement of the Bid, the Corporation has purchased 949,800 Common Shares at an average price per share of $5.28 .

The Board of Directors of the Corporation believes that purchases under the Bid constitute a desirable use of its funds on the basis that recent market prices of the Common Shares do not, and at certain times during the course of the Bid may not, fully reflect the value of its business and future business prospects.

About Cangene Corporation

Cangene is one of Canada's largest and earliest biopharmaceutical companies. It was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Winnipeg , Manitoba. Cangene has approximately 700 employees in eight locations across North America and its products are sold worldwide. It operates three large manufacturing facilities-two in Winnipeg , Manitoba and one in Baltimore , Maryland-where it produces its own products and undertakes contract manufacturing for a number of companies. Cangene operates three U.S. and one Canadian plasma-collection facilities branded as Cangene Plasma Resources. In addition, it has a regulatory affairs, sales and corporate communications office in Toronto , Ontario.

Cangene is focused on developing therapeutics for infectious diseases, and the Company uses patented manufacturing processes to produce plasma-derived and recombinant therapeutic proteins. Cangene has five FDA and/or Health Canada-approved products. In addition, the Company has several more products in development at various stages. Three of Cangene's products have been accepted into the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile-botulism antitoxin, anthrax immune globulin and vaccinia immune globulin, a product used to counteract certain complications that may arise from smallpox vaccination.

Capitalizing on its drug manufacturing expertise, Cangene also operates a significant contract research and manufacturing business using its Winnipeg facilities and the resources of Baltimore , Maryland-based Chesapeake Biological Laboratories, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary). Cangene's website, www.cangene.com, includes product and investor information, including past news releases. Chesapeake's website is www.cblinc.com.

"Cangene" is a trademark belonging to Cangene Corporation.

Forward-looking and risk information

The reader should be aware that Cangene's businesses are subject to risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified; consequently, actual results may differ materially from past results and those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such risks or uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the regulatory environment including the difficulty of predicting regulatory outcomes; changes in the value of the Canadian dollar; the Company's reliance on a small number of customers including government organizations; the demand for new products and the impact of competitive products, service and pricing; availability and cost of raw materials, especially the cost, availability and antibody concentration in plasma; fluctuations in operating results; government policies or actions; progress and cost of clinical trials; reliance on key strategic relationships; costs and possible development delays resulting from use of legal, regulatory or legislative strategies by the Company's competitors; uncertainty related to intellectual property protection and potential costs associated with its defence; the Company's exposure to lawsuits; and other matters beyond control of management. Risks and uncertainties are discussed more extensively in the MD&A section of the Company's most recent annual report and annual information form, which are available on the Company's website or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The preceding cautionary statements should be considered in connection with all written or oral statements, especially forward-looking statements, that are made by the Company or by persons acting on its behalf and in conjunction with its periodic filings with Securities Commissions, including those contained in the Company's news releases and most recently filed annual information form. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "plans", "will", "believes", "estimates", "intends", "may", "bodes" and other words of similar meaning (including negative and grammatical variations). Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should management's assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could vary materially from those anticipated. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly make or update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

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For further information: about Cangene Corporation, please contact Michael Graham at [phone] or by email at [email protected]