Profile: Bionovo, Inc. (BNVI.O)

Bionovo, Inc., incorporated on January 29, 1998, is a clinical stage drug discovery and development company focusing on women’s health and cancer. The Company designs drugs derived from botanical sources, which have mechanisms of action. The Company’s drug candidate, Menerba, represents a class of receptor sub-type selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) for the treatment of vasomotor symptoms of menopause, or hot flashes. The Company has designed Menerba to selectively modulate estrogen receptor beta (ERβ).

In preclinical studies, Menerba inhibited tumor growth, as well as bone resorption known to cause osteoporosis, which is developed during menopause. The Company was developing BZL101, an oral anti-cancer agent for advanced breast cancer during the year ended December 31, 2008. BZL101 is designed to take advantage of the metabolism of cancer cells. BZL101 inhibits glycolysis, a metabolic pathway on which cancer cells rely. The Company has a pipeline of additional preclinical drug candidates in both women’s health and cancer. It submitted an investigational new drug (IND), application and plans to initiate a Phase I trial in the second half of 2009 for its second SERM drug candidate, VG101, for the treatment of post-menopausal vulvar and vaginal atrophy, or vaginal dryness.

The Company’s drug development process targets herbs and other botanical sources, used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Company applies its clinical experience with natural compounds and knowledge of scientific screening tools to isolate and purify botanical compounds and extracts for pharmaceutical development. In addition, the Company has identified the active chemical components underpinning the mechanism of action for its drugs, and in some cases, it has developed synthetic methods of production.

The Company competes with AstraZeneca, Novartis, Pfizer, Abraxis, Pharmacia, SP Pharmaceuticals, Baxter, Faulding DBL, Pierre Fabre, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Aventis, Eli Lilly, Genentech and GlaxoSmithKline.