Protein Polymer Updates Investors on Development of Surgical Adhesives and Urinary Incontinence Products

    SAN DIEGO, March 3, 1998 -- Protein Polymer Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPTI), today presents an update on the status of the Company's development of surgical adhesives and sealants and tissue augmentation products to institutional investors and corporate development executives during Medical Data International's "Emerging Medical Technologies West" Conference in Irvine, CA.
    John Flowers, Vice President for Planning & Operations, will first discuss the performance of PPTI's surgical adhesive and sealant products, and then the Company's strategy for attracting new marketing and development partners across a range of targeted surgical procedures.  He will also report recent data and product development advances in PPTI's injectable hydrogel technology for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence and for applications in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.  Included will be a discussion of the Company's preparations for beginning formal preclinical studies this quarter on these hydrogel-based bulking agents. Based on these studies, PPTI anticipates obtaining FDA's approval of an IDE to begin pilot clinicals for the incontinence product before the end of 1998.  Clinical testing of the cosmetic/reconstructive product will subsequently begin in early 1999. The expected transition to human clinical testing this year heralds a new era in PPTI's stage of corporate development.  Mr. Flowers will also comment briefly on other targeted applications of the Company's technology, include contact lens coatings and wound healing matrices.
    Protein Polymer Technologies, Inc., a San Diego-based biotechnology company, has a technology platform that allows the creation of a number of different classes of biocompatible polymers that enable cell growth, promote the regeneration of tissue, bond to synthetic surfaces, and are resorbed by tissue at controlled rates.  PPTI's lead programs include a new generation of surgical adhesives and sealants to replace or augment the use of sutures and staples, and unique hydrogels that can be injected as liquids, but form pliable, irreversible gel structures once body temperature is reached.
    This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed here; further, the Company is not obligated to comment specifically on those differences. Risks associated with the Company's activities include raising adequate capital to continue operations, scientific and product development uncertainties, competitive products and approaches, continuing collaborative partnership interest and funding, regulatory testing and approvals, and manufacturing scale-up.  The reader is encouraged to refer to the Company's 1996 Annual Report and 10-KSB, and recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available from the Company, to further ascertain the risks associated with the above statements.