OctoPlus Announces Update On Publication Of Positive Locteron Interim Phase IIb Data

LEIDEN, NETHERLANDS--(Marketwire - March 16, 2010) -

OctoPlus N.V. ("OctoPlus" or "the Company") (Euronext: OCTO) announces that two further abstracts containing preliminary LocteronÂÂ(r) Phase IIb clinical results have just been published.These abstracts were submitted by OctoPlus' licensee Biolex and have been accepted for poster presentations on 15 April 2010 during the 45th International Liver Congress in Vienna, Austria http://www.kenes.com/easl2010/Posters/Results.asp. The poster presentations at the conference will contain final results from two Phase IIb studies after 12 weeks of treatment with Locteron compared to PEG-IntronÂÂ(r).

For further information, please contact: Rianne Roukema, Corporate Communications: telephone number +31 (71) 524 1071, or send an e-mail to Investor Relations at IR@octoplus.nl.

About Locteron Locteron is a controlled release formulation of interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Locteron combines OctoPlus' controlled release drug delivery technology PolyActive(ÂÂ(r)) with Biolex' interferon alpha and is the most advanced product in clinical development incorporating one of OctoPlus' proprietary drug delivery technologies. OctoPlus licensed its commercial rights to Locteron exclusively to Biolex in October 2008.

About OctoPlus OctoPlus is a drug delivery service company committed to the creation of improved pharmaceutical products that are based on OctoPlus' proprietary drug delivery technologies and have fewer side effects, improved patient convenience and a better efficacy/safety balance than existing therapies. OctoPlus focuses on the development of long-acting, controlled release versions of known protein therapeutics, other drugs, and vaccines on behalf of its clients.

The clinically most advanced product incorporating our technology is Biolex Therapeutics' lead product Locteron(ÂÂ(r)), a controlled release formulation of interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. OctoPlus licensed Locteron exclusively to Biolex in October 2008. Locteron is being manufactured for Biolex by OctoPlus and is currently in Phase IIb clinical studies.

In addition, OctoPlus is a leading European provider of advanced drug formulation and clinical scale manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with a focus on difficult-to-formulate active pharmaceutical ingredients.

OctoPlus is listed on Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext under the symbol OCTO. For more information about OctoPlus, please visit our website www.octoplus.nl.

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, financial performance and results of OctoPlus and the industry in which it operates. These statements are based on OctoPlus' current plans, estimates and projections, as well as its expectations of external conditions and events. In particular the words "expect", "anticipate", "predict", "estimate", "project", "plan", "may", "should", "would", "will", "intend", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward- looking statements. We caution investors that a number of important factors, and the inherent risks and uncertainties that such statements involve, could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. In the event of any inconsistency between an English version and a Dutch version of this document, the English version will prevail over the Dutch version.

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