Welichem Biotech Inc. http://www.welichem.com TSX Venture: WBI

Hello, and welcome to Welichem's newsletter. Each month we keep you informed of new developments as we move forward with our drug candidates to treat psoriasis, cancer and other diseases.

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We are pleased to present the first monthly Newsletter from Welichem Biotech for the year 2008! We are delighted to advise you that the Phase I Clinical Trial of our drug candidate, WBI-1001, on psoriasis has progressed well and on schedule. Patients from all six scheduled cohorts have completed the required treatments and doctor’s examination. We are pleased with the available information and are excited about the prospects when we receive the final report in April or May. Meanwhile, we are committed to the further development of another promising drug candidate, WBI-2100, for cancer treatment.

Looking back at the year 2007, Welichem has passed a major milestone by moving into clinical studies. Overall, the progress of new drug development in the industry was relatively time consuming. It was estimated that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 19 new drugs in 2007. Among them, only 16 were “new molecular entities”. This number is the lowest in 24 years, comparing with a peak of 53 new drugs in 1996 and 14 new medicines in 1983.

There are several theories raised to explain this phenomenon. Some drug manufacturers say that the FDA has raised its standards for approval. The agency has denied such an assertion but stated instead that “… our ability to analyze data for potential safety problems has improved, and we're especially vigilant … for chronic conditions …” Some others in the industry believe that “internal” issues are the major contributors to the decline in drug approvals. In addition, many pharmaceutical companies changed their focus from new drug development to developing new indications for existing drugs, causing a vicious circle.

Welichem has a pipeline of compounds that target a series of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases as well as solid tumours. Our lead drug candidate, WBI-1001, is expected to enter phase II clinical trials in 2008, and its unusual properties position it as an attractive drug candidate to Bio/Pharma companies eager to enrich their own pipelines if we choose to form out-license and/or partnering deals.