Montreal, PQ -July 28, 1999- Paladin Labs Inc. (VSE:PLB) announced today that it has entered into an exclusive Canadian distribution agreement with BioChem Pharma Inc. (ME,TSE:BCH;NASDAQ:BCHE) for Pacis™, a treatment for superficial bladder carcinoma. Under the terms of the agreement, BioChem will manufacture the product and Paladin Labs will become its sole Canadian distributor.

According to Statistics Canada, there will be 4900 new cases of bladder cancer diagnosed in Canada in 1999. Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer afflicting Canadians but is highly treatable with a combination of surgery and immunotherapeutic agents such as Pacis™.

Michel Chouinard, Vice President, Commercial Operations at BioChem Vaccines said, "We chose Paladin as the Canadian distributor for Pacis™ because of its proven ability to market niche therapeutic products to specialty physicians. Paladin has forged unique relationships with Canadian urologists and has an impressive portfolio of urology products."

Commenting on the partnership, Jonathan Goodman, President of Paladin Labs stated, "We are pleased that BioChem has chosen Paladin and we are confident that our strong relationships with Canadian urologists will enable us to maximise distribution of Pacis™." He added, "This product fits nicely into our growing portfolio of bladder cancer therapeutics and diagnostics. Paladin will now be able to offer urologists Pacis™ as first-line therapy for bladder cancer. Upon Canadian regulatory approval of Valstar™ (valrubicin) we will also be able to offer a second-line therapy for bladder cancer refractory to other modalities of therapy. Lastly, our NMP22 diagnostic kit allows physicians to diagnose recurrent bladder cancer and thus monitor their patients’ progress more accurately."

Paladin intends to immediately commence marketing and distribution of Pacis™ in Canada.

About BioChem Pharma Inc.

BioChem Pharma Inc. (BioChem) is an international biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialisation of innovative products mainly for the prevention and treatment of human diseases, with a focus in cancer and infectious diseases. For more information about BioChem Pharma please visit the BioChem Pharma Web Site at www.biochempharma.com.

About Paladin Labs Inc.

Paladin Labs, headquartered in Montreal, Quebec is a Canadian developer, marketer and distributor of innovative pharmaceutical currently offering products in urology, dermatology, rheumatology and other specialty markets. For more information about Paladin, please visit the Paladin Web Site at www.paladin-labs.com or send e-mail to ir@paladin-labs.com.

PALADIN LABS INC.

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