CANGENE ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD CHAIR

Listed TSX, Symbol:  CNJ

TORONTO & WINNIPEG, Dec. 14 /CNW/ - Cangene Corporation today reports that Jack Kay has stepped down from his position as Board Chair.  Mr. Kay will remain on Cangene's Board and continue to serve as a director.  Replacing him as Chair is Mr. Craig Baxter, who has been on Cangene's Board since November 1995 and brings more than 25 years of pharmaceutical experience to the position. Both Mr. Kay and Mr. Baxter are officers of companies within the Apotex Group, Cangene's majority shareholder.

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 800 employees in six locations across North America and its products are sold worldwide.  It operates manufacturing facilities in Winnipeg, Manitoba and 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 (www.cangeneplasma.com).  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 four FDA and/or Health Canada-approved hyperimmune 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 (investigational product), anthrax immune globulin (investigational product) and a vaccinia immune globulin, a product that may be 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 the resources of Baltimore, Maryland-based Cangene bioPharma, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary; formerly Chesapeake Biological Laboratories, Inc.; www.cangenebiopharma.com).  Cangene's website, www.cangene.com, includes product and investor information, including past news releases.

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