Breakthrough for Mologen AG:
Rhône-Poulenc uses Mologen technology in clinical trial for therapy of colon carcinoma

Mologen AG develops gene transfer technologies for the use of treatment and prevention of diseases. One of Mologen's technologies will be used in a clinical study financed by the French pharmaceutical company Rhône-Poulenc Rorer (to be called Aventis after its imminent merger with German multinational Hoechst AG). In this clinical study of phase II/III, scientists of the department of cancer research of Cologne University, in co-operation with Rhône-Poulenc and Mologen, will use a new combination of chemo- and immunotherapy in the treatment of intestinal cancer. A new kind of DNA-based immuno-activators developed by Mologen will be used. This new part of Mologen's line of DNA pharmaceuticals is the subject of a patent application submitted yesterday. Mologen regards the co-operation as very promising. A success of this study will have a strong impact on the use of Mologen's unique technology by the pharmaceutical industry. MIDGE's high marketing value growth The first two quarters of 1999 have been very successful for Mologen. Apart from the co-operation with Rhône-Poulenc, major achievements in the development of Mologen products have been made. The Mologen team accomplished further improvements in their core technology of MIDGE minimalistic DNA vectors. Compared with conventional techniques, MIDGEoffer a safer and more efficient way to transfer genes into a patient for therapeutic or preventive use of genetic information. As previously communicated, Mologen owns several national and international patents and applications on MIDGE production and their general principle. Mologen has thereby secured key position in the production of genetic vaccines.

Mologen group improves business operations Mologen bioinformatics unit Soft-Gene is on plan in developing the software package intraLab and Bioconstructor. Another software engineer will join the team and add to Soft Gene's expertise in the development of laboratory software written in the platform-independent JAVA programming language. By choosing JAVA, Mologen bioinformatics software can be used by different computer systems. intraLab and Bioconstructor are on course to be released by the end of this year.

At the Mologen general shareholders meeting in May 1999, the introduction of a stock option plan for the firm's employees was announced. During the first year, 50,000 stock options will be given out. Mologen staff increased by four during the first half of 1999. As expected, Mologen made rather modest sales since active marketing of the old software product MacMolly has been discontinued. MacMolly is now free to download from the Mologen WebPages. Resources of the bioinformatics unit are now fully focused on development of its new products. In the field of molecular medicine no sales have been targeted for the first half-year. MIDGE will create revenues beginning with the fourth quarter of 1999. Costs of operations are slightly lower than planned. Mologen develops technologies for gene therapy and genetic vaccines. The company's lead product is the MIDGE Minimalistic Immunogenic Defined Content Vector Technology. Furthermore, Mologen develops bioinformatics software. Mologen is the first publicly listed German Biotech Start-up Company. Mologen shares are traded on the "Freiverkehr" exchange (equity number 663720).

This release contains certain forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, delays, uncertainties and other factors not under the Company's control which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performance or other expectations implied by these forward-looking statements.

MOLOGEN Holding AG