Innovation Philadelphia Invests in Antimicrobial Technology Award to help Chaperone Technologies commercialize biotechnology

February 2004-Philadelphia - Innovation Philadelphia, the public/private partnership dedicated to enhancing the global innovation economy of the Greater Philadelphia Region, announced today that it invested in Chaperone Technologies, Inc., a Wayne, PA-based company that develops antimicrobial products.

Chaperone Technologies develops novel products based on a proprietary mechanism of action for difficult-to-treat and drug-resistant organisms across a broad range of infectious diseases. The company's technology can produce a sustainable pipeline of unique antimicrobials, antifungals, and antiparasitics for both human and non-human use.

Chaperone's proven technology has already yielded the company's first product, a potent antimicrobial that is in development for treating complicated or drug resistant Urinary Tract Infections.

Chaperone's research is centered around their discoveries of the proven activity of native, short, proline-rich peptides and their derivatives, and the use of their novel pyrrhocoricin- -based analogs to block protein folding by inhibiting interaction with the molecular chaperone DnaK.

DnaK is a unique, vital, intracellular structure that is responsible for correcting misshapen proteins, a necessary step in the life of any organism. When Chaperone's compounds bind to intracellular DnaK, the DnaK is prevented from performing its critical role in the organism's cellular lifecycle, therefore killing the target organism.

As the binding site of Chaperone's proprietary peptides is distinct from homologous targets in mammals, this suggests that the Company's products would be well-tolerated by humans - and may offer a novel and potent mechanism of action to which infectious diseases have not developed resistance.

"Innovation Philadelphia is excited about helping Chaperone Technologies complete additional research and product development in this type of biotechnology," said Chris Starr, Managing Director and Vice President of Investments at Innovation Philadelphia. "Our investment today will hopefully help Chaperone to put its technology to marketable use."

Said Kenneth Kovan, Chief Executive Officer of Chaperone Technologies, "We are happy to have Innovation Philadelphia as a part of our team moving forward. It is clear that working together, we will be able to commercialize our technologies to better peoples' lives."

Chaperone plans to expand development of its proprietary target-specific technology into products for treating a broad array of susceptible organisms.

Based on their activity profile and unique mechanism, Chaperone's compounds may potentially exhibit efficacy across an even broader array of multi-drug resistant organisms and fungi, such as those responsible for Respiratory Tract Infections (especially those causing life-threatening lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients), gastrointestinal infections, and fungal/parasitic diseases.

About Innovation Philadelphia
With its goal of enhancing the global innovation economy of Greater Philadelphia, IP is dedicated to increasing the entrepreneurial economic development resources in the Region. IP drives academic, governmental, and business leadership to invigorate Philadelphia's technological growth and create new and robust intellectual property. By advising, assisting and investing in emerging technology and life science companies, Innovation Philadelphia focuses on increasing the Region's entrepreneurial capacity and advancing Greater Philadelphia's position in the global economy. IP can be found at www.IPphila.com.

About Chaperone Technologies, Inc.
Chaperone Technologies, Inc. is developing antimicrobial products, based on a novel and proprietary mechanism of action, for difficult-to-treat and drug-resistant organisms across a broad range of infectious diseases. Chaperone's proven technology has already yielded the company's first product, a potent antimicrobial which is in development for treating complicated drug resistant Urinary Tract Infections. Chaperone Technologies can be found at www.chaperonetechnologies.com.