ARIUS Research Inc. Research Signs Anti-Cancer Antibody Discovery Deal With Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

TORONTO, April 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - ARIUS Research Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) have entered into a three-year, multi-product collaboration using ARIUS' FunctionFIRST(TM) Platform to discover novel treatments for human disease.

Under the terms of the agreement, ARIUS will receive an upfront technology access fee of US$2.0 million, consisting of US$1.0 million each in cash and equity investment respectively, and research funding for the three years. ARIUS will also be entitled to milestone payments based on progress through clinical development plus royalties on net sales for any licensed product. Takeda will assume the responsibility and costs of development and commercialization while ARIUS will have an option to co-develop any product. Further financial terms were not disclosed.

Within thirty days of closing, ARIUS will complete a private placement with Takeda in which ARIUS will issue 614,737 common shares at a price of CDN$1.90 each, based on the prevailing exchange rate of US$1.00 (equal sign) CDN$1.1680 on March 31, 2006, subject to applicable regulatory and Exchange approvals. Following completion of the private placement, ARIUS will have a total of 43,660,331 common shares issued and outstanding.

The ARIUS business model uses the FunctionFIRST(TM) platform for discovery and development collaborations. The platform has generated over 350 antibodies for the ARIUS library which are being pursued for internal development and partnership deals. Antibodies discovered through ARIUS' proprietary technology have demonstrated anti-tumor activity in animal models of a number of human cancers and have been shown to recognize important cancer targets.

"Takeda has committed extensive scientific and development resources to antibodies for cancer and we are excited by the opportunity to work together to bring our products forward," said Dr. David Young, President of Arius Research Inc. "A discovery partnership with Takeda will help us exploit our technology and achieve secure research funding and support from a premier pharmaceutical company."

"We expect that the unique approach of Arius, which is to select the functional antibodies first, will lead to an improved success ratio of developing therapeutic antibodies for a variety of cancers," said Shigenori Ohkawa, PhD, General Manager of Pharmaceutical Research Division of Takeda. "We believe that this joint research Collaboration with Arius will contribute to enhancing our cancer franchise as one of our core therapeutic areas for future growth."

Cancer affects approximately 1.4 million new patients each year in North America. ARIUS is researching treatments for the most common cancers and those with significant unmet medical need.

About ARIUS

ARIUS Research Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to personalizing cancer therapy through the discovery and development of novel anticancer monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Established in 1999, ARIUS has built a proprietary technology platform, FunctionFIRST(TM), that rapidly identifies powerful MAbs targeting a variety of cancer indications. This antibody generation engine has enabled ARIUS to assemble a growing pipeline, which is used for commercial collaborations and in-house development. ARIUS has ongoing partnerships with key biotechnology and drug development companies. The company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ARI".

About Takeda

Takeda is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the industry's leaders worldwide, Takeda is committed to strive toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products. Takeda is actively dedicated to enhance its pipeline for future growth through alliance as well as in-house R&D activities. For more information on Takeda, please visit the company's web site at www.takeda.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, ARIUS successfully advancing its new product programs as well as licensing opportunities. These statements are only predictions and actual events or results may differ materially. Factors that could cause such actual events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such statements include, but are not limited to: early stage of development; technology and product development; dependence on and management of current and future corporate collaborations; future capital needs; uncertainty of additional funding; no assurance of market acceptance; dependence on proprietary technology and uncertainty of patent protection; intense competition; manufacturing and market uncertainties; and government regulation. These and other factors are described in detail in the Company's Annual Report, forthcoming news releases and other filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities available at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and ARIUS is not obligated to update such information to reflect later events or developments.

Internet website: www.ariusresearch.com The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this statement.

ARIUS Research Inc.

CONTACT: Helen Findlay, Vice President, 55 York Street, 16th Floor,Toronto, Ontario, M5J 1R7, Telephone: (416) 862-2323 x223, Fax: (416)862-9696, contact@ariusresearch.com