CANGENE PLASMA RESOURCES CALIFORNIA WEATHERS EFFECTS OF NEIGHBOURING FIRE

Readers are referred to the cautionary notes regarding Forward-looking Information at the end of this release

Listed TSX, Symbol:  CNJ

TORONTO & WINNIPEG, Jan. 25 /CNW/ - Cangene Corporation today reports that it expects to have its Van Nuys, California plasma-collection facility cleaned up by the end of this week and operating normally within a few weeks, subject to any regulatory approvals, following an after-hours fire in a neighbouring business. While equipment in the plasma-collection centre sustained a certain amount of smoke and water damage, back-up systems preserved donor records and are believed to have maintained plasma storage conditions. No donors or staff were on the premises at the time of the fire.  The California plasma centre is owned and operated by Cangene's wholly-owned subsidiary, Cangene Plasma Resources, Inc.

"This is definitely an inconvenience to us and to the donors who have regularly scheduled appointments.  While we can't yet fully assess the extent of the damage or the costs associated with the fire, we are reviewing the matter with our insurers and expect to be running at normal capacity relatively soon," said Karen Clifford, Senior Director, Plasma Operations, Cangene Plasma Resources.

About Cangene Corporation
Cangene is one of Canada's largest and earliest biopharmaceutical companies.  It was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Cangene has approximately 800 employees in six locations across North America and its products are sold worldwide.  It operates manufacturing facilities in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Baltimore, Maryland where it produces its own products and undertakes contract manufacturing for a number of companies.  Cangene operates three U.S. and one Canadian plasma-collection facilities branded as Cangene Plasma Resources (www.cangeneplasma.com).  In addition, it has a regulatory affairs, sales and corporate communications office in Toronto, Ontario.

Cangene is focused on developing therapeutics for infectious diseases, and the Company uses patented manufacturing processes to produce plasma-derived and recombinant therapeutic proteins. Cangene has four FDA and/or Health Canada-approved hyperimmune products.  In addition, the Company has several more products in development at various stages.  Three of Cangene's products have been accepted into the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile—botulism antitoxin (investigational product), anthrax immune globulin (investigational product) and a vaccinia immune globulin, a product that may be used to counteract certain complications that may arise from smallpox vaccination.  Capitalizing on its drug manufacturing expertise, Cangene also operates a significant contract research and manufacturing business using the resources of Baltimore, Maryland-based Cangene bioPharma, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary; formerly Chesapeake Biological Laboratories, Inc.; www.cangenebiopharma.com).  Cangene's website, www.cangene.com, includes product and investor information, including past news releases.

Forward-looking and risk information
The reader should be aware that Cangene's businesses are subject to risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified; consequently, actual results may differ materially from past results and those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements.  Factors that could cause or contribute to such risks or uncertainties include, but are not limited to:  the regulatory environment including the difficulty of predicting regulatory outcomes; changes in the value of the Canadian dollar; the Company's reliance on a small number of customers including government organizations; the demand for new products and the impact of competitive products, service and pricing; availability and cost of raw materials, especially the cost, availability and antibody concentration in plasma; fluctuations in operating results; government policies or actions; progress and cost of clinical trials; reliance on key strategic relationships; costs and possible development delays resulting from use of legal, regulatory or legislative strategies by the Company's competitors; uncertainty related to intellectual property protection and potential costs associated with its defence; the Company's exposure to lawsuits; and other matters beyond control of management.  Risks and uncertainties are discussed more extensively in the MD&A section of the Company's most recent annual report and annual information form, which are available on the Company's website or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The preceding cautionary statements should be considered in connection with all written or oral statements, especially forward-looking statements, that are made by the Company or by persons acting on its behalf and in conjunction with its periodic filings with Securities Commissions, including those contained in the Company's news releases and most recently filed annual information form.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "plans", "will", "believes", "estimates", "anticipates", "intends", "may", "bodes" and other words of similar meaning (including negative and grammatical variations).  Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should management's assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could vary materially from those anticipated. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly make or update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

"Cangene" is a trademark belonging to Cangene Corporation. 

SOURCE Cangene Corporation

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For further information about Cangene Corporation, please contact Michael Graham at
(204) 275-4040 or by email at mgraham@cangene.com