VBS announces that Erkki Ruoslahti, MD, PhD, joins its Board of Advisors

San Diego, Calif., December 3, 2003 – Vascular BioSciences (www.vascularbiosciences.com) announced today that Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D. will join its Board of Advisors.

“We are honored that a physician and scientist of Erkki Ruoslahti’s stature will join our Board of Advisors,” said David Mann, CEO and Chairman of Vascular BioSciences. “Dr. Ruoslahti’s groundbreaking research and scientific expertise in the areas of vascular targeting peptide technology, vascular biology, cell adhesion, and tumor biology will greatly enhance our efforts to improve the diagnosis and treatment of vascular-based diseases. We look forward to working closely with Dr. Ruoslahti to fulfill our shared vision of improving human health.”

Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti is Distinguished Professor at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, California. He served as the President of the Burnham Institute from 1989 to 2001. He has published more than 400 scientific papers and is the inventor of more than 150 patents. His inventions form the basis of two clinically used drugs as well as several that are under development. He has co-founded several biotech companies and has served as a director or advisory board member of these and other companies. He has been awarded numerous prizes for scientific accomplishment, and was a Nobel fellow at The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Dr. Ruoslahti is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.

“I am very pleased to join Vascular BioSciences because of its continuing commitment to develop innovative technologies for diseases of the vasculature,” said Dr. Ruoslahti, “I am intrigued by the possibilities of the new endoarterial biopsy catheter developed by Vascular BioSciences and look forward to collaborating with the company in the development of new applications for this technology.”