SemBioSys Genetics Inc. (TSX:SBS), a biotechnology company developing a broad pipeline of protein pharmaceuticals and non-pharmaceutical products, today announced the completion of key milestones in its GLA rich safflower oil project with Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. The delivery of safflower seeds from plant lines containing gamma linolenic acid (GLA), transformed utilizing Arcadia's proprietary genes, fulfills SemBioSys' primary responsibilities under the funded agreement between SemBioSys and Arcadia. GLA is an essential fatty acid with potential for use in topical, medical food and nutraceutical markets.

"Completing the key milestones on this project demonstrates the ability of our safflower transformation technology to deliver nutraceutical rich oil products. We believe the level of GLA expression achieved in safflower confirms that our oil engineering technology is an enabling tool for the broad commercial production and use of GLA," said Andrew Baum, President and CEO of SemBioSys Genetics Inc. "The successful completion of the GLA project further validates the ability of our team to deliver on milestone commitments to existing partners like Arcadia, and to other potential partners in the future."

SemBioSys produced safflower plants that accumulated in excess of 65% total GLA seed oil, exceeding the milestone targets for GLA accumulation. As part of the partnership agreement, SemBioSys will receive license payments upon Arcadia's achievement of scale-up milestones, The Company will also receive ongoing sales royalties from Arcadia for GLA rich safflower oil upon successful product commercialization.

GLA is an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, which along with omega-3 fatty acids, is the recommended source of dietary fats in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. GLA is a natural anti-inflammatory with benefits for cardiac, joint, skin, and neurological health. Areas where GLA may be beneficial include infant nutrition, atopic eczema, dermatitis, diabetic neuropathy, breast pain, premenstrual syndrome symptoms, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, skin health and general inflammation. Current GLA supply is expensive and unreliable, greatly limiting its use as a dietary supplement. Safflower-produced GLA offers a low-cost, reliable and scalable source of omega-6 fatty acid.

Calgary, Alberta-based SemBioSys Genetics Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on the development, commercialization and production of protein-based pharmaceuticals and non-pharmaceutical products based on its plant genetic engineering skills and proprietary oilbody-oleosin technology platform - the Stratosome(TM) Biologics System. Its two lead pharmaceutical product candidates are insulin and a developmental cardiovascular drug called Apo AI. It also has a series of non-pharmaceutical products addressing animal and aquaculture health, nutritional oils and human topical markets. SemBioSys currently has funded partnership agreements with Martek Biosciences Corporation, Lonza Inc. and Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.