VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ - Adnavance
Technologies Inc. ("Adnavance" or the "Company"), a privately held
nanobiotechnology company, announced today that it has completed a Series A
round of financing totalling $3.85 million. Combining biotechnology and
nanotechnology, Adnavance is developing product applications that use the
electrical conductivity properties of both DNA and novel metallic forms of DNA
("M-DNA"), for the healthcare and nanotechnology industries.
    Adnavance has also secured substantial non-dilutive funding from The
National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP)
and from The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
(NSERC), to support its research and development programs.
    "This is a significant and exciting step forward for Adnavance," said Dr.
Henry Geraedts, Chief Executive Officer of Adnavance. "This financing provides
the Company with a stable foundation for continued growth, enabling us to
accelerate our lead product development programs on the healthcare diagnostics
side of our business, and progress our efforts to produce prototypes for
industrial applications. We believe that this round of financing is an
important endorsement of the development progress that Adnavance has made and
a vote of confidence in the technology platform and product pipeline."
    The investment syndicate for this financing was led by the Working
Opportunity Fund, managed by GrowthWorks Capital, with additional financing
support from BC Medical Innovations Fund (BCMIF) managed by MDS Capital,
Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund (CMDF) advised by MDS Capital, and the
Business Development Bank of Canada.
    "Adnavance is a new breed of biotechnology company that has established
an innovative technology platform with important implications for the
biosensor and molecular diagnostics markets," said Yad Garcha, Senior Vice-
President, Investments at GrowthWorks Capital. "The integration of
nanotechnology with biotechnology brings an expanded business opportunity to
the life sciences sector, and we are pleased to add Adnavance to our
portfolio."
    The proceeds from this financing will be used to advance the Company's
core M-DNA technology for a number of commercial applications, with a primary
focus on the development of ultra high sensitivity biosensors, molecular
detection devices used to improve medical diagnosis and predict disease
outcome. Adnavance's technology will enable the detection of a variety of
infectious diseases, both viral and bacterial, in near real time (less than
five minutes). Adnavance's technology offers an innovative approach to the
diagnosis of disease because it eliminates the need for the PCR amplification
process, a commonly used technique for amplifying DNA, thereby offering a
faster, highly sensitive point of use diagnostic platform.
    A second application in the healthcare sector for which Adnavance is
developing its M-DNA technology is for use in DNA-based vaccines. M-DNA has
demonstrated, in vivo, to improve the immune response due to its ability to
resist enzymes that break down naked DNA. Adnavance has initiated large animal
studies to further develop this field of application. DNA-based vaccines are
believed to offer several advantages over conventional vaccines, including
improved storage, effectiveness and flexibility, as well as reduced production
times and costs.
    Adnavance is also developing its core conductivity technology for light
driven generation and storage of hydrogen. The Company is developing a
prototype aimed at validating this approach for distributed generation and
micro fuel cell applications.

    About Adnavance
    Adnavance Technologies Inc. is a private nanobiotechnology company
developing technologies that use the electrical conductivity properties of DNA
and novel metallic forms of DNA ("M-DNA"), for commercial applications in the
healthcare and nanotechnology industries. Founded on discoveries made at the
University of Saskatchewan, Adnavance completed two seed financings and
commenced operations in early 2003. The Company's headquarters and engineering
facilities are located in Vancouver, BC and its research laboratories are
located in Saskatoon, SK.
    M-DNA is a novel form of DNA generated by applying the company's
proprietary method of introducing metal ions along the DNA helix. This hybrid,
novel form of DNA provides for the highly efficient conduction/exchange of
electrons, enabling improved sensitivity and selectivity for application in
molecular diagnostics and the development of biosensors. The conductivity
properties of DNA also enable the generation and storage of hydrogen. For more
information, please visit http://www.adnavance.com

    Note: Certain of the statements in this press release are forward-looking
statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the
Company or industry results, to be materially different from any future
results, performance or achievements expressed by such forward-looking
statements.

    Contact:
    --------
    Henry N. Geraedts, Ph.D.
    Chief Executive Officer
    Adnavance Technologies Inc.
    Tel: (604) 816-6332
    Email: geraedts@adnavance.com

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