SemBioSys announces senior management change

TSX symbol: SBS

CALGARY , Jan. 13 /CNW/ - SemBioSys Genetics Inc. (TSX:SBS), specializing in the manufacture of high-value proteins and oils in plant seeds, today announced that effective March 25, 2010 , Professor Maurice Moloney , Ph.D., the Company's Founder and Chief Scientific Officer has accepted a full-time position with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Lawes Trust in the United Kingdom as the Chief Executive and Director of Rothamsted Research, the oldest and largest Institute in Europe in Agricultural Sciences.

" Dr. Moloney was the founder of SemBioSys and has made tremendous contributions to not only SemBioSys, including all of its foundation intellectual property, but to plant science as a whole. As one of a growing number of companies using plants to produce therapeutic proteins, SemBioSys is a leader in the production, extraction and purification of human proteins in plant seed, based on the discoveries of Dr. Moloney and his team and the intellectual property in-licenced from the University of Calgary ," said James Szarko, Chief Executive Officer of SemBioSys. "His departure comes at a time when we have progressed to product formulation and scale-up at the clinical and preclinical stages of development for Biosimilar Human Insulin and Apo AIMilano, respectively. Through much of his efforts, we have a strong team that has successfully executed our research and development operations and we are now driving forward to secure partners for each of our lead programs."

"This position at BBSRC is a unique personal opportunity in UK and global agriculture to lead a team of over 400 scientists across a diverse range of agricultural science endeavours," said Dr. Moloney . "In a world of global climate change, bioenergy, concerns about food security and sustainability of agriculture, the developed countries must step to the fore to show leadership and innovation. As SemBioSys has proven its commitment to such technology through its recent Phase I/II insulin clinical trials, I felt that this was an appropriate time to start my next challenge and pass on our work to the expert team at SemBioSys. I do so with mixed emotions, but having worked closely with SemBioSys scientists, I am confident that SemBioSys will prove as successful in commercialization as it has in its scientific and technical innovation."

Dr. Moloney has worked closely with the SemBioSys team in developing a succession plan. He has agreed to SemBioSys, and negotiated with BBSRC the right, to remain engaged as a consultant and senior scientific advisor to SemBioSys to ensure efficient succession planning. Dr. Moloney will remain in his current position until his new start date of March 25th, 2010 at Rothamsted Research.

About SemBioSys

Calgary , Alberta-based SemBioSys is focused on leveraging its unique proprietary platform to manufacture high-value proteins and oils. SemBioSys' seed-based protein production system can provide for its partners product enablement, exceptionally low cost and unprecedented scalability. SemBioSys is applying the platform with high selectivity to products with tremendous clinical promise and value potential. The Company's current pharmaceutical development programs include insulin (SBS-1000, regulated as a biosimilar in Europe ) and Apo AIMilano, a next-generation cardiovascular therapy. SemBioSys is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker SBS. More information is available at www.sembiosys.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believe", "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the obtaining of court and other regulatory approvals and consents, any adjustment with respect to the amount of the non-dilutive financing, including the market price of the securities to be received by New SemBioSys, the satisfaction of closing conditions, and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's ongoing filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable Canadian securities laws.

For further information: SemBioSys Genetics Inc., Abby Garfunkel, Investor Relations, Phone: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]; The Equicom Group Inc., Ross Marshall, Vice President, Phone: [phone] ext. 238, E-mail: [email protected]