Founding Director of Prana Receives the Victoria P

Founding Director of Prana Receives the Victoria Prize

Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN, ASX: PBT) today announced that Professor Colin Masters, MD, PhD, a member of Prana's Scientific Advisory Board and a Director of the company from 2000-2007, was awarded the State of Victoria's most prestigious science award, the Victoria Prize, at Government House in Melbourne last night. The selection criteria for the 2007 Victoria Prize was based on the development of a scientific or technological innovation that has significantly benefited the community. Professor Masters was awarded the prize for his decades of work in Alzheimer's disease, including two major discoveries that have fundamentally changed medical research's approach to the disease.

Professor Masters is the champion of the amyloid theory of Alzheimer's disease, the scientific theory behind Prana's lead compound, PBT2. The theory proposes that the accumulation of toxic amyloid protein impairs memory, a finding that has pioneered new areas of research in that field. The amyloid protein is now one of the most highly studied proteins in cell biology, with more than 800 international papers produced annually.

PBT2 is currently undergoing Phase IIa clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease. Prior to his recent appointment as Director of The Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, Professor Masters was a Director of Prana and he played a pivotal role in deciding the scientific direction of PBT2.

Geoffrey Kempler, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Prana said, "Professor Masters has made a tremendous contribution to Prana's development and this award is a testament to the significant progress that he has made in the realm of neurodegenerative disorders. We look forward to his continued success and wish him all the best in his future endeavours."

Professor Masters has been awarded memberships in numerous academic, regional, national and international medical associations and societies; and has held leadership positions in many of these groups. He has served as Chair of the Management Advisory Board and Member of the Executive Committee of the Centre for Neuroscience, which is part of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne; and is currently serving as Chairperson of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Registry Advisory Group at the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging (Australia). In 1983, Professor Masters served as a member of the Work Group of the Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease: Etiology and Pathogenesis (Washington, D.C.). In recognition of his research, Professor Masters was presented the Alois Alzheimer Award by the University of Munich in 1997.

About Prana Biotechnology Limited: Prana Biotechnology was established to commercialise research into Alzheimer's disease and other major age-related neurodegenerative disorders. The company was incorporated in 1997 and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in March 2000 and listed on NASDAQ in September 2002. Researchers at prominent international institutions including The University of Melbourne, The Mental Health Research Institute (Melbourne) and Massachusetts General Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, contributed to the discovery of Prana's technology.

ENDS

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