ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. Reports its Second Quarter 2010 Financial Results

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - August 10, 2010) - ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI)

--  Year-to-date Protein Technologies business posts a profit of $0.5
    million versus losses of $1.8 million for the same period in 2009 

--  Revenues at $5.1 million for the second quarter of 2010 compared to
    $2.3 million for the same period last year 

--  Second quarter 2010 net loss of $0.9 million versus net loss of $5.1
    million for the same period 2009 

--  Year-to-date revenues increase to $8.3 million compared to $6.2
    million at June 2009 

--  Year-to-date loss reduced to $4.1 million compared to $7.1 million at
    June 2009 

ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI) ("ProMetic") today reports its financial results for the second quarter of 2010. All amounts are in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise indicated.

The following information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements for the second quarter ending June 30, 2010, as well as the Management's Discussion and Analysis for the same period.

Mr. Bruce Pritchard, the Company's Chief Financial Officer commented: "During the second quarter of 2010, the Company has continued to focus on performing against its revenue guidance of $8.1 million for the first half of 2010, issued at the Annual General Meeting of the Shareholders in May. In that respect, it met and exceeded those targets". He went on to add: "Management is focused on delivering deals from both the Plasma-Derived Therapeutics business and from its pipeline of other therapeutic products in the second half. Every effort is being made to ensure that earnings targets for full-year 2010 are met".

"Significant advances were also made with our therapeutics both from a scientific and business development standpoint," stated Mr. Pierre Laurin, ProMetic's President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Laurin further indicated: "Management reiterates its confidence in executing on partnering deals which would enable the continuation of the PBI-1402 clinical development programs in anemia and oncology as well as the development of new drug candidates targeting fibrosis and autoimmune diseases".

Highlights

Protein Technologies

--  $8.9 million delivery of Mimetic Ligand™ product - During the first
    half of 2010, ProMetic delivered on the largest order for a single
    Mimetic Ligand™ product worth approximately $8.9 million.  

--  Wuhan Institute for Biological Products program - The WIBP project is
    progressing according to schedule. After the successful completion of
    the initial technology transfer stage earlier this year, ProMetic's
    scientists have initiated the second technology transfer stage and,
    over the next quarter, are moving ahead with the retrofit of WIBP's
    GMP pilot facility. ProMetic's proprietary Plasma Protein Purification
    System ("PPPS™") will be integrated in WIBP's facility as part of
    this retrofit. 

    Initiation of the scale-up activities for the manufacturing of the
    first GMP products for the Chinese market are expected in second
    quarter of 2011. WIBP will then pursue regulatory approval from the
    Chinese State Food and Drug Administration ("SFDA") for these products
    manufactured under licence using ProMetic's proprietary protein
    technologies, by demonstrating their bioequivalence to commercialized
    products.  

--  Instituto de Tecnologia do Parana of Brazil - Due to various
    government-related, fiscal and administrative matters, the project
    with the Instituto de Tecnologia do Parana of Brazil had encountered
    some unforeseen delays. Following various exchanges and attempts to
    rectify the situation, ProMetic and Tecpar mutually agreed to
    terminate the license and development agreement late in the second
    quarter of 2010.  

--  Advancement on other Protein Technologies Programs - During the first
    half of 2010, ProMetic has moved forward on the development of several
    plasma-derived therapeutics. Several milestones were achieved for
    various programs, enabling these to move to their next respective
    phases of development. 

Therapeutics

--  ProMetic presented data on its orally-active PBI-1402 compound at the
    15th Congress of the European Hematology Association held in
    Barcelona, Spain, June 9 - 13, 2010. Clinical and preclinical results
    were presented about the management of side effects induced by
    chemotherapy and the treatment of certain cancers such as lung and
    pancreatic cancers, and certain forms of leukemia. 

    In addition, an oral presentation was made regarding the positive
    clinical data generated in patients that developed anemia as a result
    of their chemotherapy. The clinical trial demonstrated a reduction in
    the need for blood transfusions in chemotherapy-induced anemic
    patients. Furthermore, the trial data indicated that the level of
    hemoglobin and red blood cells never exceeded recommended levels even
    when the drug was used at high dose. This, combined with anti-cancer
    activity demonstrated in numerous cancer models, supports the
    potential use of PBI-1402 to address unmet medical needs in oncology. 

--  The PBI-1402 development program also led to the discovery of new and
    proprietary chemical compounds (NCEs) that regulate fibrosis via a
    novel mechanism of action. Fibrosis is part of the inflammatory
    process that leads to a loss of functionality in vital organs such as
    kidney, heart, liver and lungs in certain chronic diseases that
    affects hundreds of millions of patients. These first-in-class NCEs
    are orally active, and have been confirmed to exhibit strong anti-
    fibrotic activity in various in vivo models. 

--  Further advances were also accomplished with the Company's portfolio
    of autoimmune disease drug candidates. 

--  These advances improve the Company's ability to finalize partnering
    deals that will aim at pursuing the PBI-1402 clinical development
    programs in anemia and oncology as well as the development of new drug
    candidates targeting fibrosis and autoimmune diseases. 

Second Quarter 2010

The second quarter of 2010 was again a busy one for the business with generated revenues amounting to $5.1 million compared to $2.3 million for the same period last year. It is worth reminding readers again that the revenues of the business do not accrue in a straight line during the year, and that anticipated revenues are geared towards the latter quarters in the Company's plan. During the same period, the Protein Technologies Business unit posted a profit of $1.4 million compared to a loss of $2.1 million in 2009. This performance allowed the entire group to reach an EBITDA breakeven in the second quarter of 2010.

Operating costs for the quarter were down to $5.6 million from $6.7 million in the same quarter of the previous year. This decrease was mainly attributable to the Research and Development tax credits and to the reduced impact of foreign exchange costs and reduced amortization costs.

The debt on the balance sheet consists of loans from long-term shareholders and strategic business partners.

Analyzing the business segment performance for the quarter highlights the loss associated with the Therapeutics division, relating to strategic R&D spend to assist with business development discussions. Protein Technologies posted a gain due to increased revenues and the resulting gross profit together with a reduction in R&D costs. Corporate losses reduced due to exchange rate variances.

Profit (Loss)(i)                       Q2 2010      Q2 2009     Change %  

Therapeutics                              (510)        (425)          20% 
Protein Technologies                     1,433       (2,074)        (169%)
Corporate                               (1,861)      (2,596)         (28%)

Total Loss                                (938)      (5,096)         (82%)
(i) in thousands of dollars                                               

ProMetic's MD&A and 2010 Second Quarter Financial Statements have been filed on Sedar (www.sedar.com) and are available on the Company's web site at www.prometic.com.

About ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.

ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. ("ProMetic") (www.prometic.com) is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of a variety of commercial applications derived from its proprietary Mimetic Ligand™ technology. This technology is used in large-scale purification of biologics and the elimination of pathogens. ProMetic is also active in therapeutic drug development with the mission to bring to market effective, innovative, lower cost, less toxic products for the treatment of hematology and cancer. Its drug discovery platform is focused on replacing complex, expensive proteins with synthetic "drug-like" protein mimetics. Headquartered in Montreal (Canada), ProMetic has R&D facilities in the U.K., the U.S. and Canada, manufacturing facilities in the U.K. and business development activities in the US, Europe, Asia and in the Middle-East.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about ProMetic's objectives, strategies and businesses that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are "forward-looking" because they are based on our current expectations about the markets we operate in and on various estimates and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, ProMetic's ability to develop, manufacture, and successfully commercialize value-added pharmaceutical products, the availability of funds and resources to pursue R&D projects, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the ability of ProMetic to take advantage of business opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, uncertainties related to the regulatory process and general changes in economic conditions. You will find a more detailed assessment of the risks that could cause actual events or results to materially differ from our current expectations on page 24 of ProMetic's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2009, under the heading "Risk and Uncertainties related to ProMetic's business". As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason, unless required by applicable securities laws and regulations. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless indicated otherwise.