Investment in Another Company

Intl. Biotechnology Trust PLC
8 June 2000

For more information please contact:

Jeremy Curnock Cook, Director
International Biotechnology Trust plc
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7634 2881
E-mail: [e-mail]

Katja Stout
HCC De Facto Group plc
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7496 3300
E-mail: [e-mail]

              IBT MAKES INVESTMENT OF $7.5 MILLION IN VALIGEN -               

                     A TRANSATLANTIC LIFESCIENCES COMPANY                    


Thursday, June 8, 2000 London, UK... International Biotechnology Trust, (LSE:
IBT), announced today that it has invested US $7.5 million in transatlantic
life sciences company ValiGen. IBT was the lead investor as part of a US $25
million private round financing. This is IBT's eighth investment in the year
2000 as the company continues to reinvest gains realised by some recent
divestments.

ValiGen was established through the recent merger of ValiGene (Paris, France)
and Kimeragen (Newtown, Pennsylvania, USA) creating a transatlantic life
sciences company. ValiGen's integrated portfolio of bioinformatics, genomics
and chimeraplast technologies enables the identification and validation of
novel targets for both pharmaceutical and agricultural products. The company's
chimeraplast-based gene therapeutics have the potential to treat human
diseases associated with particular mutations by triggering the cells' own
gene repair system.

Jeremy Curnock Cook, Director of IBT, said:
'We are extremely pleased to have made this investment in ValiGen, a strong
transatlantic player in the functional genomics arena with a competitive
technology platform and a foothold in both European and US markets.

'Genomics initiatives are helping us to decipher the genetic makeup of the
human genome. The challenge of the biotech industry is to associate this
sequence information with specific phenotypes and diseases in order to
validate optimal drug targets for therapeutic information. ValiGen's
chimeraplasty technology provides a simple way of creating specific mutations
to determine their effect on a phenotype, thus validating or invalidating a
target for its in-house programmes or pharma partners' he added.

Steven Evans-Freke, former CEO of Sugen, one of the founders of ValiGene, and
now Chairman of ValiGen, commented:

'This is the third time that I have had the pleasure of working with Jeremy
and his colleagues.  The quality, experience and business judgement of this
team bring important added value to the companies with which they work, so we
are delighted to have them on board at ValiGen.'

Jean-Louis Pourny, CEO of ValiGen, commented:

'I am extremely pleased with the results of this financing and the vote of
investor confidence. Our successful transatlantic merger has given us a
competitive edge in terms of both global reach as well as broadening and
strengthening our technology platform. We are also delighted that IBT has
stepped in as a lead investor and are confident that they will provide us with
invaluable guidance during this very exciting time in our development.'

Further information on IBT at www.internationalbiotrust.com
                         

Issued by International Biotechnology Trust plc and approved by Rothschild
Asset Management, which is regulated by IMRO. As IBT invests in the
biotechnology sector, investments in IBT should be regarded both as long term
and as carrying a high level of financial risk. Accordingly share value may
fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested.

Notes to editors

1. International Biotechnology Trust plc  

www.internationalbiotrust.com

International Biotechnology Trust plc (IBT) was launched to take advantage of
the investment opportunities arising in mid-stage life science companies, with
emphasis on investing in relatively few companies, and involving a close
working relationship with investee companies through the provision of
strategic management support and sector expertise. 

International Biotechnology Trust - Key Data
* Founded in 1994
* £247.11million net asset value of investment at 5 June 2000 
* Listed on London Stock Exchange (LSE.L)
* Managed by the bioscience unit at Rothschild Asset Management
* Invests primarily in mid-stage biotechnology companies
* Investment criteria
- sound technology platform
- under-resourced
- good prospects for commercialisation
* Further financing may be invested where appropriate
* Strategic support and management development provided
* 23 core investments (including ValiGen)
      1 in France, 14 in US, 4 in Canada, 3 in UK, 1 in Germany

2. ValiGen

ValiGen is a privately-held European-American life science company focused on
improving healthcare and agriculture by developing and providing in vivo
validated targets, proprietary information and novel products. ValiGen assists
pharmaceutical and agricultural companies to derive commercial value from
genomics data.

ValiGen has a broad and integrated technology platform comprised of genomics,
informatics and 'phenomics'. With this platform, the company spans the
continuum from raw profiling of phenotypes to identifying and providing in
vivo validated targets using innovative chimeraplasty technology.

Led by a talented and experienced managerial team and renowned board of
directors and scientific advisory board, ValiGen is committed to
product-oriented and disease-focused alliances maximizing value creation for
both its partners and itself. The company is currently concentrating on
cardiovascular diseases, cancer and obesity-related diseases.

For further information on ValiGen visit http://www.valigen.net/

International Biotechnology Trust and Rothschild Asset Management Ltd (RAM)
make no representation as to the accuracy or timeliness of information
contained in websites linked to this press release and specifically disclaims
any liability for the information and advice of third parties which are linked
to, but not included, in this press release.