Dramatic Visual Support for Mode of Action of
              Vascular Targeting Agent Combretastatin A4 Prodrug

                 - Presentation at Bio 2001, San Diego, CA -

    WATERTOWN, Mass., June 26 /PRNewswire/ --
OXiGENE (Nasdaq: OXGN; SSE: OXGN) will participate on a panel today at the Bio
2001 International Biotechnology Convention and Exhibition in San Diego, CA.
The company will discuss its global technology platforms, financial status and
highlight a recent publication of data supporting OXiGENE's vascular targeting
agent Combretastatin (CA4P), showing a profound effect on tumor growth and
microvasculature in a murine liver metastatic model.  Dr. Paul E. O'Brien,
Monash University, Department of Surgery, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Australia
published the study in the journal of Clinical Cancer Research.  Dr. O'Brien
showed that when used alone, CA4P significantly decreased the percentage of
colorectal tumor metastasis to the liver.  This work showed dramatic effects
after only one hour of treatment with no damage to normal tissue.
    "CA4P represents an exciting development in cancer treatment.   Not only
is it highly effective in reducing tumor size but importantly, it appears to
act by a new path of specifically targeting the blood vessels which feed the
tumor," said Professor O'Brien.  "Because tumors constantly need to make new
blood vessels to survive and the host does not, we hope that this path will
enable us to provide a highly focused attack on the tumor without hurting the
patient."
    "In contrast to anti-angiogenesis agents, which merely stop the formation
of new tumor blood vessels, vascular targeting agents (VTA's), such as CA4P,
work by attacking already existing tumor vasculature," said Dr. David Sherris,
Vice President of Research and Development at OXiGENE. "Dr. O'Brien's work is
remarkable in that it was able to directly show the tapering and loss of tumor
vessels through actual visual observation of vessel architecture.  It was also
clear that normal vessels surrounding the aberrant vessels of the tumor were
unaffected by CA4P."
    Although VTAs damage vessels feeding the tumor, normal vessels surrounding
the periphery of the tumor are unaffected, allowing the growth of the
perimeter of the tumor.  Hence, a combination of CA4P with conventional
chemo- or radio-therapeutic treatments are needed to eradicate the entirety of
the tumor, as was discussed in a recent article in Cancer Research, which
demonstrated the effectiveness of CA4P as a combination therapy.
    OXiGENE's next generation of VTA's, currently in preclinical development,
are being designed to attack existing blood vessels both at the core and edge
of the tumor, destroying cells throughout the tumor mass -- including the edge
-- using a single agent approach.
    OXiGENE is an international biopharmaceutical company developing a diverse
portfolio of innovative products to combat cancer and other major diseases.
The Company's mission is to develop new therapeutics that will enhance the
effectiveness of traditional cancer treatments and to introduce innovative
therapies that attack cancer and other diseases in new ways.

    Certain statements in this press release, including the possible success
of the Company's business and its technology goals, are forward-looking and
are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995.  Such statements relate to risks and uncertainties that
may cause the Company's actual results or outcomes to be materially different
from those anticipated and discussed in this press release.  Factors that may
cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those risks and
uncertainties associated with the regulatory approval of the Company's
proprietary drugs, and other risks included in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K and in the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission during the past 12 months.

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