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Dragon Announces Receiving Common Shares in Escrow from Dr. Liu pursuant to the Settlement Agreement

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Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. (TSX: DDD; OTC BB: DRUG; BBSE: DRP) today announced that 2.23 million common shares of the Company have been placed in escrow by Dr. Liu, a director of the Company, to secure the debt obligation to the Company pursuant to the Settlement Agreement among Dragon, Dr. Liu and Novagen Holding Inc., Dr. Liu’s associated research company.

With the Settlement Agreement as announced on April 22, 2004, Dragon decided not to pursue the research projects on G-CSF, insulin and a patent project with Dr. Liu and his associated research partners in exchange for Dragon to receive $1.33 million reimbursement of expenses. In addition, the 1 million warrants granted to Dr. Liu for the patent development project are also cancelled. Together with the $3.71 million of principal and interest owing under the Hepatitis B vaccine project, Dr. Liu will pay Dragon a total of $5.04 million, which will be due on December 31, 2004. It was a condition of the Settlement Agreement that 2.2 million common shares of the Company be placed in escrow by June 30, 2004 and such condition has been fulfilled.

“The Settlement Agreement signified a milestone for Dragon to finally move on and disengage itself from any related party transaction and potential conflict of interest in the future. We believe that the settlement will prove to have a positive impact on the Company in the long run especially as we have just announced entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Oriental Wave Holding Ltd. The Company can now concentrate on what is important to create better shareholders value by focusing on growth at both top and bottom lines.” said Dr. Alexander Wick, President and CEO of Dragon.

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Dragon Pharmaceutical Addresses that Its Stock Is Traded on the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange

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Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. (TSX: DDD, OTC BB: DRUG) announced today that it has learned that Dragon’s stock has been traded on the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange without any prior knowledge from the Company. Based on the press releases from many other companies on the Over-the-counter Bulletin Board, we believe that many companies have encountered the same situation and are in the process of addressing it.

“Immediately upon learning of this fact, we have contacted the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange in Germany to inquire about the source of the trading of Dragon’s stock on such exchange. Dragon’s shareholders can be assured that the Company will investigate further to determine whether such trading of its stock on the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange has any impact on the Company and we will take appropriate action to make sure it is in the best interest of our shareholders.” said Dr. Alexander Wick, Dragon’s President and CEO.

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Dragon and Oriental Wave Announce the Signing of Definitive Agreement to Create a Competitive and Growth Oriented Pharmaceutical Company (Part 2 of 2)

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The combined company will be one of a few public pharmaceutical companies traded in North America that produces generic pharmaceutical drugs, biotech generic drugs and bulk pharmaceutical chemical competitively, and has access to the most prominent Chinese markets while also targeting a number of international markets. Investors, especially those from North America, will be able to invest directly in this pharmaceutical company with China as a core market without participating in the stock markets outside of North America, where the rules and regulation of the capital market system could be very different.

Enhanced Capital Market Opportunities
The critical mass achieved, lower risk profile due to diversification of businesses and better business prospects with multiple growth opportunities will enhance the combined company’s ability to attract, if required, additional funding and seek out other business opportunities, such as obtaining a listing status on a more senior stock exchange in the U.S.

PROFILE OF DRAGON AFTER THE TRANSACTION
Dragon, after the transaction, will continue to be quoted on Over-the-counter Bulletin Board (Ticker: DRUG) and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX? (Ticker: DDD). The company may also seek a listing on a more senior stock exchange in the U.S. when it fulfills the listing requirements. Here are some highlights of Dragon, after the transaction:

2003 Full Year Pro-forma financials, assuming the transaction occurred at the beginning of 2003:
Revenues of $29.7 million
Net profit of $5.6 million (Net profit margin of 18.8%)
Earning per share of $0.09 (based on 64.9 million shares)

Number of employees
Approximately 1,850 (excluding approximately 1,200 sales representatives)

Major product offering:
35 pharmaceutical products (mainly anti-infectious drugs, including 13 prescription drugs and 22 over-the-counter drugs)
2 chemical products (Clavulanic Acid and 7-ACA)
2 biotech products (EPO & G-CSF)

Product permits issued by Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA)
293 product permits in 9 categories:
130 types of tablets
14 types of granules
10 types of suppositories
23 types of capsules
1 type of powder
54 types of powder for injections
15 types of bulk drugs
44 types of injection
2 types of biotech injectables (including in-licensed G-CSF)

Sales network
63 sales offices covering all 31 provinces/regions with over 1,200 sales representatives in China
Licensing arrangement covering over 130 countries

Manufacturing facilities and capabilities
Pharma division
Powder for Injection with an annual capacity of 80 million vials
Tablets with an annual capacity of 520 million units
Capsules with an annual capacity of 90 million units
Granules with an annual capacity of 47 million sachets
Suppositories with an annual capacity of 10 million units
Sterilized bulk drug with an annual capacity of 180 tons

Chemical division
Clavulanic Acid with an annual capacity of 30 tons
7-ACA with an annual capacity of 400 tons (currently under final installation of equipment)

Biotech division
EPO with an annual capacity of 5.4 million vials

Dragon, after the transaction, will continue to have its Corporate Headquarters in Vancouver, Canada and its major business will be reorganized under three business units, namely, a Pharma division, a Chemical division (formerly referred as the Chemical Drug division and the Chemical Intermediate division respectively in previous press releases) and a Biotech division. The Corporate Headquarters in Vancouver will continue to perform the functions of international sales and marketing, international regulatory affairs, finance and compliance, investor relations and business development for the expanded businesses of Dragon. A new corporate office will be set up in Beijing, China to unify the management of the manufacturing facilities and operations of the three business units as well as the sales and marketing activities in China.

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Dragon and Oriental Wave Announce the Signing of Definitive Agreement to Create a Competitive and Growth Oriented Pharmaceutical Company (Part 1 of 2)

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Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. (TSX: DDD, OTCBB: DRUG) (“Dragon”) and Oriental Wave Holding Limited (“Oriental Wave”), the holding company of Shanxi Weiqida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., are pleased to announce today that they have signed a definitive agreement providing for a business combination of the two companies.

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Dragon will issue approximately 44.4 million shares to Oriental Wave shareholders to acquire all of the shares outstanding of Oriental Wave Holding Limited, which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Dragon assuming the transaction is consummated. As a result of the transaction, Oriental Wave’s shareholders will own approximately 68.35% of Dragon on a fully-diluted basis. The new Board of Directors of Dragon, after the transaction, will consist of two existing directors of Dragon and three appointed directors from Oriental Wave. Dragon intends to hold its annual meeting of shareholders during the third quarter of 2004 to seek approval to issue the shares in connection with the business combination, along with the election of directors and ratification of independent accountant proposals. In addition, because Dragon does not, at this time, have a sufficient number of authorized common stock, it will seek shareholder approval to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock at the annual meeting.

The Boards of Directors of both companies have approved the definitive agreement. The transaction is subject to approval by Dragon shareholders and regulatory authorities, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Subject to the satisfaction of these conditions, the transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2004.

The business combination brings together Dragon and Oriental Wave with similar business strategies of capturing the market potential of the generic drug sector by producing pharmaceutical products competitively in China, achieving material access to the Chinese market and, at the same time, targeting international market opportunities.

“The combining of the strengths and competitive advantages of both companies without any fundamental change in strategies comes as a natural transformation except that the combined company now has better vision for growth, more diverse and proven product lines, expanded production facilities and operations in China, and stronger revenues and earnings, all of which position the combined company better to deliver shareholder value based on the critical mass achieved” said Dr. Alexander Wick, President and CEO of Dragon. “To Dragon’s shareholders, this transaction is expected to be accretive and represents an exciting opportunity to participate in a pharmaceutical company positioned for further growth captured under the Pharma, Chemical and Biotech divisions of the combined company. We expect that these businesses will drive revenue and profitability growth and increase the value of the combined company beyond what could be achieved separately.”

Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Yanlin Han, Chairman of Oriental Wave said, “We are extremely excited about this transaction which, we believe, represents an important step to strengthen the combined company’s position to become a competitive player in the global pharmaceutical industry. Oriental Wave and its subsidiary has been an active participant in the consolidation of the Pharmaceutical industry in China in the past and have, therefore, accumulated substantial experience and expertise in making sure the transition of this business combination goes smoothly in order to realize the expected benefits and synergies as planned.”

KEY BENEFITS FROM THE BUSINESS COMBINATION

Enhanced Financial Position and Achievement of Critical Mass to Better Compete in the Global Pharmaceutical Industry
Based on the pro-forma financial statement prepared by Dragon’s management, assuming the transaction occurred at the beginning of 2003, the combined company would have 2003 pro-forma revenues of $29.7 million and a net profit of $5.6 million (or $0.09 per share based on 64.9 million shares), which is significantly enhanced from revenues of $3.7 million and a net loss of $2.0 million (or ($0.10) per share calculated based on 20.3 million shares) for Dragon as a stand alone company. The combination not only enhances Dragon’s value by creating a company with stronger fundamental and growth potential than Dragon alone but also allows the company to achieve the critical mass to better compete in the global pharmaceutical industry.

Complementary Product Offerings
The combined company will offer a diversified and proven product line of 40 key pharmaceutical, chemical and biotech products. In addition, after the transaction, the combined company will have a portfolio of 293 product permits from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (“SFDA?, including the in-licensed G-CSF. We believe the breadth and complementary nature of the product portfolio not only mitigates the combined company’s overall business risk profile as a result of diversification but also enables the company to focus on near-term and long-term revenue and earnings growth.

Complementary Sales Platform
Combining the Oriental Wave’s comprehensive sales network with over 1,200 sales representatives in China and Dragon’s strong international licensing networks covering 130 countries will enable the combined company to have a strong sales presence in both Chinese and international markets.

Complementary Management Expertise
Following the Transaction, we will combine the management teams of Oriental Wave, which has extensive experience in pharmaceutical product manufacturing operation and sales and marketing in China, and those of Dragon, which has extensive experience in international regulatory affairs and international market development for pharmaceutical products from China.

Revenue and Cost Synergies
Immediate revenue synergy includes cross selling Dragon’s EPO in China through Oriental Wave’s sales network of over 1,200 sales representatives while mid-term and long-term opportunities include selling Oriental Wave’s Chemical products and Pharma products through Dragon’s international licensing network. We expect that the cross-selling of each other’s products will achieve additional revenues without incurring proportional selling expenses. In addition, we believe that the combined company will achieve other cost synergies through combining and unifying certain corporate management functions and responsibilities, the sales and marketing network in China as well as the operations management of the three business divisions.

Capturing Multiple Growth Opportunities
The generic drug and chemical sectors of the pharmaceutical industry are characterized by the competitiveness of the producers from developing countries, especially China and India, due to their respective advantages, such as lower production and environmental costs. The combination of Dragon and Oriental Wave fits in the current industry trend of accessing global opportunities in the growing generic drug and chemical sectors with businesses based in the cost competitive jurisdictions.

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Dragon Reports Strong First Quarter Results of 2004

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Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. (TSX: DDD; OTC BB: DRUG) is pleased to announce the results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2004. During the quarter, the Company posted revenues of $878,270 from the sales of rHu Erythropoietin (EPO), which represents 32.2% growth from the same period in 2003.

Revenues of $701,870 were generated from sales in China and $176,400 from sales outside of China during the first quarter of 2004 compared to $454,347 in China and $209,975 from sales outside of China for the same period in 2003. The gross profit margin was 71.9% for the first quarter of 2004, slightly increased from the gross margin of 69.7% for the same period in 2003.

Operating expenses for the quarter in 2004 were $0.88 million, down from $1.2 million from the same period last year reflecting the results of our continued efforts to streamline our operations during the past 12 months. Net loss for the first quarter in 2004 was $249,423 or $0.01 per share, down from a net loss of $734,027, or $0.04 per share, for the same period in 2003.

“We believe the fairly strong first quarter was as a result of our stronger than expected sales in China. A combination of a 32% increase in revenues, a slight improvement in gross margin and a 26% decrease in operating expenses during the first quarter of 2004 compared to the same period last year, have contributed to our lower net loss to just less than $0.25 million or $0.01 per share.” said Dr. Alexander Wick, President and CEO of Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. “During the first quarter of 2004, we have made a few major announcements which we believe are extremely important to the future development of the Company, including our in-licensing of worldwide rights, excluding China, for Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (“rhG-CSF”) from Suzhou Zhongkai Bio-Pharmaceuticals Company Limited and our signing of a Letter of Intent to merge with Oriental Wave Holding Ltd. We are very pleased with the progress in completing negotiations of a definitive agreement with Oriental Wave and are still targeting to have the proposed merger completed by the third quarter of 2004, subject to fulfillment of all conditions. Detailed information regarding the transaction, the business of Oriental Wave and its subsidiary and its financial statements would be prepared and circulated to the shareholders of Dragon in connection with a general meeting of shareholders which would be convened to approve the transaction.”

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Worldwide Licensing Rights, excluding China, for Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (rhG-CSF)

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Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. (TSX: DDD; OTC BB: DRUG) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Suzhou Zhongkai Bio-Pharmaceuticals Company Limited (“Zhongkai”) to in-license the exclusive right to commercialize its Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (“rhG-CSF? product worldwide, excluding the People’s Republic of China (the “Agreement”).

Using a non-mammalian cell fermentation technique (e.coli) with an in-house developed and patented purification process in the 6000m2 Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (“SFD&A”) cGMP-approved manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China, Zhongkai is one of the leading producers of rhG-CSF product, with approximately 16% market share in China, where competition is fierce with at least 20 other domestic producers. Dragon chose to in-license Zhongkai’s rhG-CSF based on the company’s evident superiority in compliance with cGMP, its well-documented processes, and the purity, safety, and efficacy of its product. Zhongkai’s rhG-CSF is currently approved in China for oncology indication.

Human G-CSF is a glycoprotein which regulates the production and release of functional neutrophils from the bone marrow. Myelosuppressive chemotherapy often upsets the patient’s white blood cell count, leading to febrile neutropenia. The primary indications for rhG-CSF are in chemotherapy associated with the treatment of various cancers.

Zhongkai’s product containing rhG-CSF causes marked increases in peripheral blood neutrophil counts within twenty four to thirty six hours. rhG-CSF functions within the body to stimulate production of more white blood cells, helping to reverse neutropenia so that cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy can continue with as near to normal white blood cell counts as possible. In some cancer patients, chemotherapy must actually be interrupted until neutropenia has been separately managed and brought under control, and in the case of certain tumor types, successful chemotherapy must be given according to a correct dosage and schedule.

“The competition is fierce in China with about 20 G-CSF products already in the market. As a result, we decided to partner with a leading producer in the market and focusing on developing the international market outside of China. This will bring much better economic value to Dragon without incurring significant risk in research and developing and the high investment to bring the drug into production” said Dr. Alexander Wick, President and CEO of Dragon. “This is an excellent opportunity for both Dragon and Zhongkai. Under the agreement, Dragon will leverage its regulatory approval knowledge and expertise from launching its own rh-Erythropoietin (“EPO”) business internationally and will also utilize its existing licensing partnerships developed over time around the world to bring Zhongkai’s rhG-CSF to the international market. A good quality, competitive bio-generic drug from China, like Zhongkai’s rhG-CSF product, warrants the market exposure opportunities from both developing and developed countries. As a matter of fact, our international marketing and distribution partners have been quite keenly awaiting this product. Similar to Dragon’s current strategy for the EPO product which has been approved in a number of developing countries and is in preparation to enter the European market, Dragon intends to commercialize the rhG-CSF initially in non-patented developing countries and will eventually extend the market coverage to developed countries upon expiry of the relevant patents. In the case of the European Union market, we believe that the relevant patents will expire in 2006 and by that time, we’ll have an infrastructure, partnership and invaluable experience from launching our EPO product in the European Union market.”

This partnership with Zhongkai is part of our continued initiative to utilize our strengths and expertise in commercializing other in-house or in-licensed pharmaceutical products internationally. We have just announced entering into a letter of intent to merge with Oriental Wave Holding Ltd., on March 24, 2004, which would create a company that offers biotech generic drugs, chemical generic drugs and chemical intermediate produced in China competitively and marketed in China and international markets.” said Dr. Wick. “We believe that the combined company will be ready to fully leverage the production infrastructure and sales network in China, diverse and proven product lines and distribution partnership around the world to make the combined company a serious player in the global pharmaceutical industry.”

About Suzhou Zhongkai Bio-Pharmaceuticals Company Limited
Founded in 1996, Suzhou Zhongkai Bio-Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jiangsu Wuzhong Industrial Co. Limited. Zhongkai is currently engaged in research and development for two additional therapeutics: one recombinant drug, and the other with the development & refinement of an existing therapeutic based on Traditional Chinese Medicine.

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2003 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results (Part 2 of 2)

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During the third quarter of 2003, Dragon signed a development agreement with a European research institute to collaborate in developing a new cell line and proprietary production process for a newly developed EPO product for the European market. In addition, Dragon has completed an upgrade of its current production facility in Nanjing, China, doubling the production capacity of its roller bottle technology to fulfill demand from China and other developing markets, which currently include India, Egypt, Brazil and Peru.

Subsequent to year end, Dragon announced that it has entered into an agreement with Suzhou Zhongkai Bio-Pharmaceuticals Company Limited (“Zhongkai”) to in-license the exclusive right to commercialize its Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (“rhG-CSF”) product worldwide, excluding China. “This is an excellent opportunity for both Dragon and Zhongkai. Under the agreement, Dragon will leverage its regulatory approval knowledge and expertise from launching its own EPO business internationally and will also utilize its existing licensing partnerships developed over time around the world to bring Zhongkai’s rhG-CSF to the international market” said Dr. Wick. “The competition is fierce in China with about 20 products already in the market. As a result, we decided to partner with a leading producer in the market and focusing on developing the international market outside of China. This will bring much better economic value to Dragon without incurring significant risk in research and developing an in-house product and the high investment to bring the drug into the production” For details, please refer to the press release on April 22, 2004 “Dragon Announces Worldwide Licensing Rights, excluding China, for Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (rhG-CSF)”

Due to the availability of alternative products, the slow progress of the research projects, and the desire to avoid any conflict of interest issues in the future, Dragon has decided not to pursue the research projects with Dr. Liu and his associated research partners on G-CSF, insulin and a patent project in exchange for Dragon to receive $1.33 million reimbursement of expenses. In addition, the 1 million warrants granted to Dr. Liu for the patent development project will also be cancelled. Together with the $3.71 million of principal and interest owing under the Hepatitis B vaccine project, Dr. Liu will pay Dragon a total of $5.04 million, which will be due on December 31, 2004. Dr. Liu has agreed to provide 2.6 million common shares of the Company, to be held in escrow, as security for the amounts owing. It is a condition of the agreement that 2.2 million common shares of the Company be placed in escrow by June 30, 2004.

“The cancellation of the research partnership with Dr. Liu enables Dragon to finally move on and disengage itself from any non-arm’s length transactions and potential conflict of interest in the future. Now, the Company can concentrate on what is important to create better shareholders’ value by focusing on growth in both top and bottom lines. We believe that the event will prove to have a positive impact on the Company in the long run especially as we are negotiating diligently with Oriental Wave Holding Limited on a potential merger as previously announced” said Dr. Wick. Letter of Intent to Merge with Oriental Wave

On March 24, 2004, Dragon announced that it has entered into a letter of intent to combine with Oriental Wave Holding Ltd (“Oriental Wave”) and its subsidiary in a merger. Subject to a number of conditions and if the proposed merger is consummated, the combined company will create a fully-integrated pharmaceutical company with diverse and proven product lines and 3 existing cGMP manufacturing facilities for biotech drugs, chemical generic drugs and chemical intermediate (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient or API) and the fourth facility for another chemical intermediate, which is under final installation of equipment.

Oriental Wave is a privately held holding company of a China-based pharmaceutical company, which is primarily engaged in the production of chemical intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients, formulation, marketing and sale of generic drugs. Oriental Wave currently has 2 Chinese SFDA certified GMP production facilities on stream: a pharmaceutical facility with a capacity of producing 1.6 billion tablets and capsules, 80 million injectables and 10 million suppositories per year as well as a chemical plant with an annual capacity of producing 30 tons clavulanic acid by a fermentation process. A third facility with an annual capacity of producing 400 tons of 7-ACA, an intermediate for Cephalosporin antibiotics, is under final installation of equipments. In addition, Oriental Wave Group has a total of approximately 280 drug approvals from the SFDA of which about 35, mainly anti-infectious drugs, were actively exploited in China in 2003.

For the year ended December 31, 2003, Oriental Wave’s audited consolidated revenues and earnings were US$26 million and US$7.5 million. 2003 revenues only consisted of sales in China by Oriental Wave’s Chemical Drug division because the Clavulanic Acid facility of the Chemical Intermediate division commenced production, operation and sales in January 2004 and the 7-ACA facility, which is under final installation of equipment, is expected to start operation during the third quarter of 2004. Such results from the two facilities of the Chemical Intermediate division, together with the existing operation of the Chemical Drug division, will be reflected in the full year financials of 2004.

“The proposed merger will be an important milestone for the history of Dragon by transforming the Company into a serious player in the global pharmaceutical industry with proven product lines (biotech drugs, chemical generic drugs and chemical intermediate), significant infrastructure, operations and revenues from the prominent Chinese market and a competitive edge to be successful in the international market covering both developing and developed countries” said Dr. Wick.

If the proposed merger is consummated, it is anticipated that Dragon, the surviving company, will continue to be a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (Ticker: DDD) and quoted on the Over-the-counter Bulletin Board (Ticker: DRUG). “Our listing status in both U.S. and Canada stock markets would allow the combined company to access the North American capital market, where there is tremendous investor interest in the generic drug sector as well as company with material access to the significant Chinese market” said Dr. Wick.

Dragon’s and Oriental Wave’s proposed merger is conditioned upon a number of events including entering into a definitive agreement which is currently being negotiated by the parties. Both companies intend to conclude the negotiation as soon as practical so as to start the regulatory process with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Toronto Stock Exchange

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2003 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results (Part 1 of 2)

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Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. (TSX: DDD; OTC BB: DRUG) today announced results for the three-month and twelve-month periods ending December 31, 2003.

Highlights

  • Generated revenues of $3.65 million and a net loss of US$1.99 million, or $0.10 per share for the full year of 2003.
  • Continued momentum in developing the International market:
    • Launched rh-Erythropoietin (“EPO”) into the Brazilian Market in addition to China, India, Egypt and Peru.
    • Doubled revenues from international market outside of China.
    • Received Market Approval for the Surgery indication and a new dosage presentation of 6000 IU from Chinese State Food and Drug Administration for the Chinese market.
    • Doubled the production capacity of the Nanjing manufacturing facility to fulfill the demand from China and other developing markets.
    • Entered into an Agreement with a European research institute to develop a high yield and proprietary EPO cell-line and production process technology for the European market.
    • Appointed Mr. James Harris as the Vice President of International Sales and Marketing.
  • Subsequent to the year-end:
    • Entered into a Letter of Intent to merge with Oriental Wave Holding Limited to create a unique company that has diverse and proven product lines (biotech drugs, chemical drugs and chemical intermediate) with already sizable revenues from the tremendous Chinese market and the future of potential in the international market.
    • Entered into an agreement with Suzhou Zhongkai Bio-Pharmaceuticals Company Limited to in-license the exclusive right to commercialize its Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (“rhG-CSF”) product worldwide, excluding China.
    • Entered into an agreement with Dr. Longbin Liu on the debt related to the Hepatitis B Vaccine project and reimbursement of certain research projects for Dragon to receive a total of $5.04 million.

Financial Review
Fourth Quarter of 2003
During the quarter, the Company posted revenues of $0.82 million compared to $1.18 million of 2002. Net loss from the quarter has been narrowed down to $572,700 or $0.03 per share, improved from the net loss of $4.0 million, or $0.20 per share in the fourth quarter in 2002.

Full Year of 2003
The Company posted revenues of $3.65 million compared to $7.36 million of 2002 which included a one-time order of $3.7 million bulk EPO. Net loss for 2003 was narrowed down to $1.99 million or $0.10 per share from a loss of $5.25 million or $0.26 per share in 2002.

“Since 2002, the Company has streamlined our operations both in China and internationally. As a result, we managed to reduce the operating cost significantly, especially in the area of selling, general and administration and continued to narrow the net loss from the operation. We will maintain our efforts to achieve ongoing improvement on our cost structure by tight control of expenses and more importantly, to implement necessary strategies to increase our revenues by expanding into more markets for our EPO products as well as increasing more product diversity” stated Dr. Alexander Wick, President and CEO of Dragon.

Sales and Marketing Review
Sales in China and outside of China were $2.26 million and $1.39 million, respectively for 2003 compared to $3.0 million and $0.7 million respectively for 2002. In addition to Chinese and international sales in 2002, there was a one-time order of $3.7 million for research purpose.

“We continue to achieve remarkable progress in international market by launching our EPO into the Brazil market and doubling the international revenues from 2002 even though we are a bit disappointed with the overall sales in China which was affected by the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (“SARS”) epidemic at the beginning of 2003. Our EPO products are sold through hospitals in China and patients, including patients using EPO, avoided going to the hospital in order to minimize the risks of contracting SARS at the peak of the SARS epidemic which covered the first half of 2003″ said Dr. Wick. “The Company has implemented some necessary measures, including altering the structure of the sales organization and sales model in China to ensure our competitiveness in the market. We are also in the process of finding suitable potential sales partners to complement our own sales network in China to make sure we achieve the full potential in the Chinese market. On the international front, we have achieved satisfactory progress in 2003 and we expect to continue the momentum by obtaining additional market approval in 2004″

During the year, Dragon also received the approval from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (“SFDA? for the use of EPO in surgical patients as well as approval for a new dosage of 6000IU, which is used for this indication.

In early 2003, Dragon appointed Mr. James Harris III, a 22-year veteran in the biotech and pharmaceuticals industry, as the Vice President of International Sales and Marketing. Mr. Harris brings invaluable sales and marketing expertise and experience of marketing Amgen’s EPO and Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (“G-CSF”).

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Dragon Announces Update on the Letter of Intent to Merge with Oriental Wave Holding Ltd.

News

Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. (TSX: DDD, OTC BB: DRUG) (“Dragon”) today updates its previously announced Letter of Intent to merge with Oriental Wave Holding Limited (“Oriental Wave”).

Oriental Wave’s auditor, an accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, has completed its audit and issued its report on Oriental Wave’s 2003 financial statements. Oriental Wave’s consolidated revenues and earnings were US$26 million and US$7.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2003. Revenues primarily consisted of sales by Oriental Wave’s Chemical Drug division. In January 2004, Oriental Wave’s Clavulanic Acid facility of the Chemical Intermediate division commenced production, operation and sales which will be reflected in 2004. Another facility for Chemical Intermediate division producing 7-ACA is under final construction and is expected to start operations during the third quarter of 2004.

Dragon would like to further clarify that, if the proposed merger is consummated, it is anticipated that Dragon, the surviving company, will continue to be a company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (Ticker: DDD) and quoted on Over-the-counter Bulletin Board. (Ticker: DRUG).

“The proposed merger will be an important milestone for the history of Dragon by transforming into a serious player in the global pharmaceutical industry with proven product lines, significant infrastructure, operations and sizable revenues from the prominent Chinese market and a competitive edge to be successful in the international market covering both developing and developed countries. Our current listing status in both U.S. and Canada stock markets would allow the combined company to access the North American capital market, where there is re-emerging investor interest in both biotech and chemical generic drug sectors as well as in companies with material access to the significant Chinese pharmaceutical market.”
said, Dr. Alexander Wick, President and CEO of Dragon.

Dragon’s and Oriental Wave’s proposed merger is conditioned upon a number of conditions including entering into a definitive agreement which is currently being negotiated by the parties. Both companies intend to conclude the negotiation as soon as practical so as to start the regulatory process with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”). A special shareholders’ meeting to approve certain aspects of the proposed merger is expected to occur during the third quarter of 2004.

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Dragon Announces a Proposed Merger with a Profitable, Fully-integrated Pharmaceutical Company

News

Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. (TSX: DDD, OTC BB: DRUG) (“Dragon”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent to combine with Oriental Wave Holding Ltd (“Oriental Wave”) and its subsidiary (together as “Oriental Wave Group”) in a merger by which Dragon shareholders would own 31.65% of the new entity and Oriental Wave Holding Ltd. shareholders would own 68.35% of the new entity. (“Proposed Transaction”) Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions including the completion of a definitive agreement and all required regulatory and shareholder approvals. Dragon and Oriental Wave are unaffiliated and the terms of the Letter of Intent were negotiated at arm’s length.

Oriental Wave Holding Ltd, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, is a privately held company that is the sole shareholder of a China-based pharmaceutical company, which is primarily engaged in the production of chemical intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients, formulation, marketing and sale of generic drugs. Oriental Wave Group currently has 2 Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (“SFD&A”) certified GMP production facilities on stream: a pharmaceutical facility with a capacity of producing 1.6 billion tablets and capsules, 80 million injectables and 10 million suppositories per year as well as a chemical plant producing clavulanic acid by a fermentation process. A third facility is under construction for the production, by fermentation, of 7-ACA, an intermediate for Cephalosporin antibiotics. Oriental Wave Group has a total of approximately 280 drug approvals from the SFD&A of which about 35, mainly anti-infectious drugs, were actively exploited in China in 2003.

Based on the financial statements prepared by the management of Oriental Wave Group, the company in 2003 had consolidated revenues of US$26 million (2002: US$11.2 million), earnings of US$7.6 million (2002: net loss of US$ 0.24 million) and a net profit margin of 29%. In 2003, all the revenues were entirely generated by the Chemical Drug Division of the company as the brand new Chemical Intermediate Division commenced its production only in January, 2004. An audit of management’s numbers is being completed under U.S. GAAP by a U.S. Registered Public Accounting firm. It is expect that this audit will be completed within 2 weeks.

On completion of the Proposed Transaction, Dragon’s rHu Erythropoietin (EPO) business and the production facility in Nanjing, China will become the core foundation of the Biotech Division of the combined company which will be organized into three major divisions: a Chemical Drug Division, a Chemical Intermediate Division and a Biotech Division with 3 existing SFD&A certified GMP manufacturing facilities and the fourth facility under final construction. In addition, the combined company will also have an extensive sales and marketing network in China which will give a boost to Dragon’s local EPO sales. In return, the commercial ties of Dragon established over the years for the sale of EPO and the registration expertise in a large number of international markets will be decisive for the international sales and marketing of Oriental Wave Group products.

“We are very excited about this project and highly satisfied to enhance the visibility of Dragon’s medium and long term prospect by merging two companies that draw their strengths from the same basic activity but are complementary when it comes to products. The merged entity will enjoy a strong financial foundation, access to the financial markets through the existing listings on Toronto Stock Exchange and OTC Bulletin Board, a sizeable sales force in China and international market exposure creating significant growth and value creation opportunities by offering substantial operational improvements and immediate cost synergies.” said Dr. Alexander Wick, President and CEO of Dragon. “The combined company intends to create significant synergies by benefiting from the competitive advantages of both Dragon and Oriental Wave Group while sharing a joint vision of aiming at both the Chinese market and international market opportunities with diverse and proven product lines of substantial growth prospect.”

Subject to fulfillment of all conditions, Dragon is targeting to have the Proposed Transaction completed by the third quarter of 2004. However, no assurance can be given that definitive documentation will be executed or, that once documentation is executed, the transaction will be consummated. Detailed information regarding the transaction, the business of Oriental Wave and its subsidiary and its financial statements will be prepared and circulated to the shareholders of Dragon in connection with a general meeting of shareholders which would be convened to approve the transaction.

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