MedMira Inc V.MIR

China NR

[beercan]

LOOKS PROMISSING.........MedMira makes rapid in-roads in Chinese market via COMTEX November 17, 2003 HALIFAX, Nov 17, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via Comtex/ -- MedMira Inc. (MedMira) (TSX Venture: MIR) announced today that it has finalized arrangements with Long Hao Healthcare Technology Company Ltd., of Guangzhou, China, which will act as distributors for MedMira MiraWell(TM) Rapid HIV tests. MedMira also announced an increase in the annual purchase commitment by the distributors to 1,000,000 units, with 100,000 of these units to be delivered by mid December. This is an increase of 600,000 units in the 12-month order for MiraWell(TM) Rapid HIV tests and follows the People's Republic of China State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) regulatory approval earlier this year. 'The rapid expansion confirms our expectation of the market demand for our HIV test in China,'said Stephen Sham, Chairman and CEO of MedMira. 'We are extremely pleased to find such rapid acceptance in the Chinese point-of- care diagnostic industry. Chinese authorities and agencies are making extraordinary efforts to curb the spread of HIV and we are very pleased to see that our technology is making such immediate in-roads and becoming a significant component of their public health campaign.' This distributor commitment in China comes shortly after MedMira's announcement they had shipped a total of 250,000 rapid HIV test kits to the USA, in the first 4 months following the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of MedMira's HIV tests. Long Hao Healthcare Technology Company Ltd. has its head office in Guangzhou, China. Long Hao introduced the overseas drug store business model into China, where they successfully operate a network of 10,000 retail stores. In addition, Long Hao distributes a variety of healthcare products for oncology, cardiovascular and general health, within China. MedMira (www.medmira.com) is a commercial biotechnology company that develops, manufactures and markets qualitative, in vitro diagnostic tests for the detection of antibodies to certain diseases, such as HIV, in human serum, plasma or whole blood. All of MedMira's diagnostic tests are based on the same flow-through technology platform, thus facilitating the development of future products. MedMira's technology provides a quick (under 3 minutes), accurate, portable, safe and cost-effective alternative to conventional laboratory testing. This news release contains forward-looking statements, which involve risk and uncertainties and reflect the company's current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could materially differ from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, changing market conditions, successful and timely completion of clinical studies, uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process, establishment of corporate alliances and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's quarterly filings. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this statement. SOURCE MedMira Inc. Dr. James Smith: [phone] or e-mail: [e-mail] http