U of S 'Spin-Off' Herbal Treatment Firm Shortlisted For National Innovation Award

Posted November 26, 2002


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 26, 2002 2002-11-18-OTHER

U of S 'Spin-Off' Herbal Treatment Firm Shortlisted For National Innovation
Award

A University of Saskatchewan spin-off company that has come up with a herbal
treatment for impotence has been chosen as one of six finalists in the 2002
Innovations Challenge sponsored by the University of Toronto Innovations
Foundation and its Innovations Network.

The Challenge is a national business plan competition that recognizes
promising technology-focused business opportunities. The winner of the third
annual competition will be announced Nov. 27th at an awards ceremony in
Toronto. The winner is eligible for up to $500,000 in equity investment.

BioNatCom Technologies Inc., founded by U of S technology transfer company
UST Inc. and U of S physiology researcher Dr. Rui Wang, is currently
patenting two herbal products -- a treatment for impotence and another for
hypertension.

"We know there's strong market potential for both products -- worldwide more
than 152 million men suffer from erectile disfunction and 50 million people
in the U.S. alone have high blood pressure," said Branko Peterman, president
of UST Inc. that owns BioNatCom. "With sufficient funding, the firm could
enter the nutraceutical and functional food markets within two years."

"BuSY", the commercial name of the herb being patented for erectile
dysfunction, is more potent and will be much cheaper than Viagra once it
hits the markets. In animal tissue studies, BuSY allows the muscles in the
penis to relax, increasing the blood flow that results in an erection.

"ExBu", which has been shown to lower blood pressure in hypertensive rats,
is an extract from an edible mushroom that grows in China and northern
Saskatchewan. High blood pressure was lowered after the rats had been given
the herb and maintained at the lower level for at least one month after the
termination of ExBu feeding.

BioNatCom is seeking investors so that further animal testing and human
clinical trials can be conducted for both products. If the tests are
successful, the firm expects the herbal treatments to be sold eventually in
health stores.

Wang, who has both a medical degree and a doctorate in physiology, is also
trained in traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on which both treatments are
based.

UST is seeking U.S. and international patents for the technology and will
license the exclusive world-wide rights to BioNatCom.

Each year 30 to 40 companies submit business plans to the competition. Six
finalists are then chosen to pitch their business plan to a panel of leading
venture capital firms. Judging criteria include the presence of a strong
management team, a technology with significant market potential, and the
existence of a recognized market need.

For more information about the competition, visit:
http://innovationsfoundation.excelerator.ca/

-30-

For more information, contact:

Dr. Rui Wang
Department of Physiology
University of Saskatchewan
Phone: (306) 966-6592


Kathryn Warden
U of S Research Communications Officer
Office of the Vice-President Research
kathryn.warden@usask.ca
Phone: (306) 966-2506