Grant to fund development of topical anti-scarring agent

South San Francisco, CA - May 2, 2001 - FibroGen, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a grant from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for further research and development related to FibroGen's proprietary Prolyl Hydroxylase (P4H) Inhibitor Program. The grant will fund final formulation work with the Company's topically-available compound for use as an anti-scarring agent.

"This grant allows FibroGen the opportunity to aggressively continue research and development efforts directed toward finding a treatment option for patients suffering from excessive scarring due to burns or other injury," said George R. Martin, Ph.D., Chief Technical Officer of FibroGen. "We are very pleased with the achievements of our P4H research team led by Dr. Volkmar Gunzler. Recognition and support from the NIH will ensure our leadership position in this challenging field. Our compounds inhibit a key step in the formation of collagen, the major component of scars. We are able to reduce the excessive deposition of scar, but allow normal healing to proceed."

Other recent studies with animal models by FibroGen's scientific team have shown that the application of a P4H inhibitor within 7 to 14 days after injury, significantly reduces the production of excess collagen and therefore prevents the development of scar tissue. For instance FibroGen is also researching the use of P4H inhibitors immediately following Myocardial Infarct (MI). This research is based on clinical observations relating to changes within the heart after a heart attack or MI. After four weeks of treatment, both collagen deposition and mortality were significantly reduced in the P4H treatment arm; mortality in the treatment arm was reported as 9% versus a mortality rate of 39% in the non-treatment arm. These data indicate that post-MI collagen deposition may impose restrictions on the normal systolic activity of the heart and further suggests that treatment with FibroGen's proprietary P4H inhibitor prevents dilation by controlling collagen formation and improves the mortality rate following MI.

About FibroGen, Inc.

FibroGen, Inc., has leveraged its expertise in extracellular matrix biology by achieving the only commercially viable method known to produce human collagen and human gelatin in recombinant systems. FibroGen will exploit this technology by becoming both a bulk product supplier for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries as well as a developer and commercializer of injectable products, wound management products, and gelatin stabilizers. Additionally, FibroGen has unique therapeutic programs focusing on the development of therapies to treat fibrosis, excessive scarring, tissue regeneration, and fibroproliferative disorders including angiogenesis and squamous cell carcinoma.

FibroGen has numerous corporate collaborations with global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical engineering companies for both its novel biomaterials and its anti-fibrotic programs. For more information about the Company, please visit the FibroGen web site at www.fibrogen.com.