Laureate Pharma Sees Bright Future As Newest Safeguard Scientifics Company

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 7, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Laureate Pharma is pleased to announce that the company has been acquired by Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE - News), a strategic growth partner for companies in the Time-to-Volume stage of development. Laureate Pharma will continue to serve its clients in the growing biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical contract manufacturing services industry. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020723/LPHARMLOGO )

In addition to expansion capital, Safeguard Scientifics provides its companies a wide range of operational and management expertise to drive their successful growth to become market leaders.

Laureate's current management team will continue to lead the company and implement its plan to increase its leadership position in the biopharmaceutical and drug delivery services marketplace.

"We join the Safeguard family with great optimism and look forward to a bright future in the bioprocessing and drug delivery marketplace," said Robert J. Broeze, Ph.D., President & CEO of Laureate Pharma, Inc. "Through this acquisition, Laureate Pharma gains increased access to investment capital and management expertise that will enable us to grow. It is clear that our vision to become the premier company in our industry is aligned with Safeguard Scientifics."

Michael F. Cola, Safeguard's Group President, Life Sciences, said, "The Laureate Pharma transaction is a key step in building Safeguard's presence in the Life Sciences industries. With the U.S. bioprocessing services market projected to grow at 20% per year over the next several years, Laureate Pharma is positioned to capitalize on this growth as the biopharmaceutical industry moves towards outsourcing. We look forward to helping Laureate expand their market presence."

About Laureate Pharma

Laureate Pharma is a full-service contract manufacturing organization (CMO) with headquarters in Princeton, NJ. The company is dedicated to supporting the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. Laureate Pharma's biopharmaceutical division, located in Princeton, NJ, provides a wide range of product development services from process design and development to full-scale cGMP production, purification and aseptic filling, as well as corresponding testing, validation, analytical services and regulatory support. The division is focused on two active segments of the biopharmaceutical industry: monoclonal antibodies and recombinant protein products. Mammalian cells are grown in stirred-tank, hollow-fiber, or other bioreactors for production of biopharmaceutical proteins, which are purified by state-of-the-art semi- automated chromatography systems. Laureate Pharma's microparticle technologies division located in Totowa, NJ, supplies extended release development, formulation and filling services through commercial scale at its cGMP manufacturing facility. For more information on Laureate Pharma, contact the company directly at (609) 919-3400, by email at info@laureatepharma.com or visit www.laureatepharma.com.

About Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: (NYSE: SFE - News)) is a committed strategic growth partner for companies in the Time-to-Volume stage of development. Time-to- Volume companies are those that are generating revenues from a commercially viable product or sector, but are facing new challenges as they scale their business to meet market opportunities. Focused primarily on the information technology and the life sciences sectors, Safeguard generally acquires majority ownership interests in companies at this stage of growth. For more information about Safeguard and its strategy, visit http://www.safeguard.com.