BERKELEY, Calif., July 7 -- BioTime, Inc. (Amex: BTX) today announced that its South Korean licensing partner CJ Corp. has received regulatory approval from the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) for Hextend(R), the Company's physiologically balanced blood plasma volume expander. BioTime also announced that it has received the second of two license fee installments from CJ Corp. The $300,000 license fee was paid to BioTime in connection with CJ Corp.'s filing for regulatory approval to manufacture and market Hextend in South Korea. CJ Corp. will now seek Korean National Health Insurance pricing, which is necessary to commence marketing Hextend. That process is expected to take approximately six months.

"CJ Corp. is a valued partner with deep marketing resources and established pharmaceutical leadership," said Judith Segall, BioTime Vice President of Operations, Office of the President. "We are pleased that CJ Corp. has successfully concluded the regulatory approval process for Hextend, and we are confident they will optimize sales and marketing initiatives for the product in South Korea.

"Hextend's registration in South Korea marks a major step forward for Hextend's entry into overseas markets," Ms. Segall added. "We chose South Korea as our first overseas target market because of its strong trade relationship with the U.S. and neighboring Asian countries. We have been focusing a good deal of our attention to the Asian market as we seek to fulfill the need in that region for safer and more effective plasma volume expansion solutions."

CJ Corp. holds the exclusive license to manufacture and sell Hextend and PentaLyte(R) in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) for human therapeutic uses. The first license fee installment of $500,000 was paid to BioTime by CJ Corp. during April 2003. Under the licensing agreement, BioTime will receive a royalty on Hextend sales ranging from $1.30 to $2.60 per 500 mL unit, depending upon the price approved by Korea's National Health Insurance.

Hextend is BioTime's proprietary physiologically balanced blood plasma volume expander for treating the loss of blood volume during major surgery. Hextend is manufactured and marketed in the U.S. and Canada by Hospira, Inc. under an exclusive licensing agreement. The product is used in leading hospitals, teaching universities, hospital chains and HMOs in North America, and is the preferred resuscitation fluid of the U.S. Special Operations Command.

PentaLyte is a pentastarch-based blood plasma volume expander similar in formulation to Hextend. PentaLyte is more quickly metabolized than Hextend, and is designed for use when short lasting volume expansion is desirable. BioTime has completed a Phase I clinical trial of PentaLyte in the U.S. and expects to commence a Phase II trial this year.

About BioTime, Inc.

BioTime, headquartered in Berkeley, California develops blood plasma volume expanders, blood replacement solutions for hypothermic (low temperature) surgery, organ preservation solutions and technology for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment and other applications. BioTime's lead product Hextend(R) is manufactured and distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Hospira, Inc. under an exclusive licensing agreement. Information about BioTime can be found on the web at www.biotimeinc.com.

Forward Looking Statements

The matters discussed in this press release include forward-looking statements which are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the ability of BioTime and its licensees to obtain additional FDA and foreign regulatory approval to market BioTime products; competition from products manufactured and sold or being developed by other companies; the price of and demand for BioTime products and the results of clinical trials of BioTime products. Other risk factors are discussed in BioTime's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    CONTACT: BioTime, Inc.
             Judith Segall, 510-845-9535
             or
             Financial Relations Board
             Kristen McNally, 310-407-6548
             (Investor/Analyst Information)
             kmcnally@financialrelationsboard.com