UMBI to Receive $135,000 for Alpharma Fellowship

College Park, MD -- Training outstanding young researchers in biotechnology is the goal of a new Alpharma Fellows Program, established at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI) through a grant from Alpharma, Inc., the international pharmaceutical company.

Dr. Peter McCann, interim president of UMBI, says the program has been created with a pledge of $135,000 for graduate research fellowships, to be paid over a five-year period. Funding may be renewed at the end of five years.

"Our close ties with industry influence the direction of research at UMBI," says Dr. McCann. "The Alpharma fellowship is the kind of educational collaboration that is critical to attracting the most outstanding students. By supporting such education, companies contribute significantly to workforce development in their industries." Alpharma has supported UMBI previously for research in agricultural biotechnology.

The Alpharma Fellows Program will begin in July 1999, with one student selected every two years who will perform scientific research at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in a field reflecting the interests and focus of Alpharma. The program will provide a two-year graduate fellowship and summer employment to an entering student. In addition, the company will underwrite annual travel by the Alpharma Fellow to the Alpharma Aquatic Animal Health research and development unit in Oslo, Norway, to facilitate on-site research interaction as well as to participate in seminars and meetings.

Dr. Knut Moksnes, president of Alpharma's Aquatic Animal Health Division, says, "Our partnership with UMBI means that jointly we can recruit the highest quality young graduate students to train future scientists. These bright young researchers are the future laboratory scientists upon whose work commercial success will be built in coming decades."

Alpharma Inc. (NYSE:ALO) is a multinational pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets specialty human pharmaceutical and animal health products. Its Aquatic Animal Health Division, with facilities in Oslo and Overhalla, Norway, and Bellevue, Washington, USA, is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of vaccines to immunize farmed fish against disease.

The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute fosters strong international collaborations in biotechnology and higher education. Members of its Board of Visitors include Dr. Haakon Sandvold, retired executive of Norsk Hydro, Oslo, Norway, and Mr. Thomas Anderson, president, Alpharma U.S. Pharmaceuticals Division, Baltimore, MD.

An independent component of the University System of Maryland, the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute is a hub of intensive study into the science of biotechnology and its application to human health, the marine environment, agriculture, and protein engineering/structural biology.