Oslo, Norway, 12 April 2000

Nutri Pharma ASA, the Norwegian biotechnology company, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Del Monte, a global leader in the fruit and vegetable juices market, to develop and launch Abacor®-containing fruit juices internationally. This will be a high profile launch later this year in the UK functional foods market of unique cholesterol-lowering fruit and vegetable juices. The market for fruit juices in the UK is currently worth £1¥5bn per annum, and is set to grow by 23% over the next four years.

Abacor® is a patented combination of soy-protein and soy-fibres, with high fixed levels of phytooestrogens. Clinical studies have shown that intake of Abacor® lowers LDL cholesterol by 15-20% after four months. One month after use, the cholesterol level had returned to pre-treatment levels, demonstrating that the effect is tied to the intake of the product, and that the beneficial reduction in cholesterol levels can only be maintained with continued intake of Abacor®.

Del Monte will obtain global rights for sales and distribution for the Abacor® juices, and will additionally be responsible for development of the final product. Nutri Pharma retains full ownership of its patented Abacor® technology and will supply Del Monte with the active ingredients. Both companies have emphasised the importance of marketing this product through an integrated communications programme which includes both consumer advertising and PR, and a medical marketing programme.

"Combining Abacor® with Del Monte effectively integrates biotech excellence with functional foods and opens up a whole new market segment to address growing consumer needs," said Michael Oredsson, Nutri Pharma´s CEO. "Del Monte?s reputable expertise in the fruit and vegetable juice market is the ideal complement to Abacor?s® core strengths in combining optimal efficacy in cholesterol reduction with great taste".

Del Monte is one of the leading producers and distributors of fruit juices internationally. The Company has a number of capabilities in R&D, with key strengths in marketing and sales. A market leader in the UK market, Del Monte enjoys close co-operation with all major chains with a country-wide distribution.

"This alliance creates a powerful combination of strong science and marketing expertise that focuses on consumers´ needs – a key driver of the functional foods market," said Mr Vivian Imerman, CEO and Chairman of Del Monte. "The synergy between the Abacor® and Del Monte brands will capture a large part of the growing market in the UK, and we believe that these will be superior products to ensure complete consumer acceptability."

Nutri Pharma ASA, based in Oslo, Norway, was founded by Dr Lars Høie, MD, PhD (Appl) and Trond Syvertsen (MBA) in 1993. The company is focusing on innovative functional foods based on propriety soy-technology, and is committed to addressing the growing incidence of prevalent lifestyle disorders, including elevated cholesterol levels, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Nutri Pharma´s soy-technology is secured with a portfolio of patents and other intellectual property rights. The company has recently signed a marketing and distribution agreement with the General Nutrition Corporation in the US and Canada. In April 1998, the company raised US$15 million in a private financing round in London and Oslo. Nutri Pharma´s weight-loss product Nutrilett® has held a market-leading position in the Nordic Countries since its launch in 1989 with aggregated sales of $150 million, and the company is about to roll-out Abacor®, a range of cholesterol-lowering functional foods.

For further information, please contact:

Michael Oredsson, CEO Nutri Pharma ASA.TEL: +45 3338 4000
David Speechly, PhD, MBA. Noonan/Russo Ltd.TEL: 0171 726 4452