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RegeneRx Appoints J.J. Finkelstein as President, CEO & Director RegeneRx Appoints J.J. Finkelstein as President, CEO & Director March 19, 2002 — Bethesda, Md RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB:RGRX) (URL: www.RegeneRx.com) announced today that J.J. Finkelstein has been appointed as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Dr. Allan L. Goldstein who will remain as Chairman and Chief Scientific Advisor of the Company. Mr. Finkelstein has also joined the Company's board of directors. Mr. Finkelstein was one of the early founders of RegeneRx, having helped finance the company during its start-up in 1982. He was appointed President and CEO in 1984 and remained in that position through 1989, during which time he was responsible for several rounds of financing including the company's initial public offering. After leading another biomedical company during much of the 1990's, Mr. Finkelstein recently headed a group of investors responsible for repositioning RegeneRx, allowing it to continue development of Thymosin beta 4 (Tß4), a novel wound healing compound. According to Mr. Finkelstein, "I am very pleased to again lead the company and very excited about the wound healing results being generated at the National Institutes of Health. It is our intent to create as much value as possible by internally developing Tß4 through the clinical trial process while working with outside partners in areas of mutual interest. We believe this is the best model for developing our technology and furthering the interests of all stockholders." RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., Bethesda, MD, is developing Tß4 for the treatment of acute and chronic wounds and for the treatment of a variety of human diseases involving tissue repair. The company holds an exclusive worldwide license from the National Institutes of Health related to the technology. It has also filed a number of patents outside the wound healing area. RegeneRx recently completed a $1.7 million round of financing, led by Defiante Farmaceutica Unipessoal, L.d.a., a Portuguese company that is part of an Italian pharmaceutical group, Sigma-Tau, headquartered in Rome. The capital raised in this round of financing will enable the Company to initiate funding of human clinical trials later this year. Tß4 is a naturally occurring 43-amino acid peptide that regulates actin and down-regulates certain inflammatory cytokines, both of which are vital for the healing of acute and chronic wounds. The Company holds several patents related to its technology and has numerous patent applications pending. A number of articles have been recently published in scientific journals showing statistically significant results in various in vitro and in vivo wound healing models. Mr. Finkelstein has been a chief executive officer and consultant in the bioscience industry for the past twenty years, having served as CEO of three biomedical companies since 1982. He has been responsible for the regulatory approval and marketing of a number of medical products in the U.S. and abroad, and has raised more than $35 million in venture funding. He currently serves on the Boards of MdBio, Inc., a not-for-profit Maryland organization whose mission is to support bioscience development and education in the State of Maryland and BioMat Sciences, Inc., a biomaterials company specializing in innovative new products for the dental and medical fields. Mr. Finkelstein also sits on the Board of Trustees and is the Immediate Past President of the Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts where he initiated development of a new $12 million performing arts center in downtown Bethesda and conceived of a series of theatrical productions highlighting various scientific and ethical issues related to biotechnology. The information in this press release may include certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements concern the Company's current expectations regarding future events, including the ongoing and prospective development and commercialization of Tß4 and possible future benefits to the Company, its shareholders, and patients. Due to the nature of product development and the regulatory approval process, the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those reflected in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-KSB. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements made by the Company. |