SAN DIEGO, CA - March 5, 1998 - Today, Structural Bioinformatics Inc. ("SBI") commenced operations at its new subsidiary, SBI Advanced Technologies, A/S ("SBI-AT") located in the Hørsholm Science and Research Park, adjacent to the Technical University of Denmark, 12 kilometers north of Copenhagen.

SBI-AT will develop commercial applications of advanced informational theories and technologies developed by a distinguished group of Danish scientists. The group comprises Dr. Jakob Bohr, Professor, Physics Department, The Technical University of Denmark ("DTU"); Dr. Søren Brunak, Center Director, Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, DTU; and Dr. Henrik G. Bohr, Assistant Professor, Physics Department, DTU. "Under the direction of these outstanding scientists, SBI-AT is chartered to develop new computer algorithms capable of predicting the flexible 3-D shapes of protein molecules to complement the offerings in SBI's structural databases" according to SBI's President, Dr. Edward T. Maggio. Maggio continued, "The problems associated with protein shape prediction are exceedingly complex and of paramount interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Proteins are involved at a fundamental level in all of the biochemical reactions that comprise the living cell, as well as in all disease processes. Thus, knowledge of the 3-D shape of proteins will make possible the rapid and rational design of new drugs for virtually all disease categories."

Structural Bioinformatics Inc., San Diego, California, is a worldwide leader in the field of computational analysis of proteins. This field is growing exponentially due to the wealth of new gene sequence data becoming available from the human genome project and other sources. These gene sequences represent a numerical code specifying the composition of each and every protein molecule. SBI uses supercomputers to convert these numerical codes into the 3-D shapes of the corresponding protein molecules. This shape information is compiled into a proprietary protein structural database which is made accessible to pharmaceutical and biological research companies on a Subscription basis. In effect, SBI has generated an "operating system" making possible the widespread use of gene sequence information in structure-based drug design throughout the pharmaceutical industry.

The technology being developed in Hørsholm is expected to expand and extend SBI's protein structural computational capabilities significantly. Additionally, the Danish subsidiary will be the focal point for European access to SBI's structural bioinformatics databases for the logistical convenience of SBI's European subscribers and partners; and will serve as the European headquarters for marketing, sales, and technical support for SBI's protein structure database products.

SBI is building corporate partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, gene discovery companies, and combinatorial chemistry companies ranging from biotechnology collaborations to assistance with specific drug targets or target groups.