Cangene announces that it is no longer being considered for acute radiation
syndrome contract

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

    Listed TSX, Symbol: CNJ
    

TORONTO and WINNIPEG, July 16 /CNW/ - Cangene Corporation today reports that it has been advised by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA"), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that Cangene has been eliminated from the competitive range with respect to its bid on a contract for developing a treatment for acute radiation syndrome ("ARS"). Cangene had originally submitted a response to a request for proposal ("RFP") for a development and supply contract for an ARS treatment that was issued by BARDA in 2008, and had anticipated a possible contract award later that year. BARDA subsequently withdrew the original RFP in January of 2009 and issued a modified RFP for a development-only contract in March 2009. This RFP specified a one-year base contract, with four, one-year extension options. Cangene submitted its new proposal to this RFP in May 2009. This proposal was linked to an agreement Cangene had concurrently signed with Maxygen, Inc. (Nasdaq(R): MAXY) giving Cangene an exclusive option to acquire an exclusive licence to Maxygen's protein therapeutic called MAXY-G34 for treating ARS. Cangene paid an upfront fee of US$0.5 million for this option and intended to exercise it in the event that BARDA issued a contract that met certain criteria.

"While we believed we had submitted a good proposal and continued to have productive discussions with BARDA, RFPs of this type are complex and the outcome is never certain. It is good to have a final decision - we can now remove this as a focus and concentrate our government contracts team on other opportunities," said Dr. John Langstaff, Cangene's president and CEO.

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

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 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 (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 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 (investigational product), anthrax immune globulin (investigational product) 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 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.

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.

"Cangene" is a trademark belonging to Cangene Corporation.

%SEDAR: 00002351E

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