Vascular BioSciences Awarded Phase 1 STTR Grant from the National Heart Lung Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health for Pulmonary Hypertension

Durham, North Carolina, February 1, 2008 – Vascular BioSciences announced today it has received a STTR Phase 1 grant from the National Heart Lung Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health in the amount of $165,745. The STTR award, “Targeting Pulmonary Hypertension with R–Ras,” will be performed in collaboration with principal investigator Dr. Masanobu Komatsu of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and consultant Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research at the University of California Santa Barbara.

Dr. Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and principal investigator for the STTR research project commented, “I think this award reflects that the NIH recognizes real potential in R–Ras-based therapies to treat vascular diseases and the importance of pursuing the pulmonary hypertension project we proposed.”

David Mann, CEO of Vascular BioSciences and co-principal investigator of the project commented, “This NIH Phase 1 STTR award validates our approach to pulmonary hypertension research. In addition to pulmonary hypertension, we anticipate applying the unique combination of R–Ras protein transduction therapies and vascular targeting peptide nanotechnologies to other vascular-based disease applications.”

Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Vascular Mapping Center at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research at the University of California Santa Barbara and co-discoverer with Dr. Komatsu of the role of R–Ras in vascular homeostasis commented, “I am glad that Dr. Komatsu is continuing the studies we jointly started and that the project is on a path to the clinic with Vascular BioSciences.”

About Vascular BioSciences

Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company based in Research Triangle, North Carolina, provides solutions for vascular–based diseases in order to enhance and prolong human life.

Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve outcomes for vascular–based disease patients.