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PhytoMedical Advances Research of Patented Anti-Cancer Compound with Important Toxicity Tests

PhytoMedical’s anti-cancer compounds shown to successfully kill cells from multiple human cancers; Company initiates next phase of product development.

Princeton, NJ – March 17, 2008 - PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: PYTO) (FWB: ET6), today announced that the Company will initiate the third phase of its drug development program, with researchers undertaking important toxicity studies of several select, patented anti-cancer compounds shown to successfully kill cells associated with several difficult-to-treat human cancers.

“It’s extremely exciting to see our anti-cancer compounds move into the next phase of development,” explained Mr. Greg Wujek, President and CEO of PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc.  “This move certainly builds on the success of our recent lab tests which have consistently demonstrated the ability of our compounds to kill human cancer cells.”

In contrast to other anti-cancer approaches, PhytoMedical’s compounds under development are designed to initiate a precision assault for killing cancer cells, taking straight aim at the ‘blueprint’ inside the cancer cell, thereby directly choking its ability to grow, replicate, and survive.  Using this approach, the Company’s novel anti-cancer compounds have been shown to kill several difficult-to-kill cancers in numerous in vitro tests.

Earlier this month, PhytoMedical announced new test results of its patented ‘next generation’ anti-cancer compounds, which demonstrated the ability to kill difficult-to-treat human cancer cells, including colon cancer cells and glioblastoma cells related to brain cancer, an often fatal form of cancer. 

In tests results announced previously, PhytoMedical’s ‘first-generation’ compounds also showed the ability to kill human small cell lung cancer cells, an important outcome given lung cancer’s high mortality rate.  Due to the lack of effective treatment options, lung cancer kills more Americans annually than any other type of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.

PhytoMedical’s Cancer Research: Killing Cancer’s DNA
PhytoMedical is developing a novel class of patented anti-cancer agents that have a ‘cytotoxic’ or poisonous affinity for cancer cells. These new compounds are designed to bind more tightly to cancer cell DNA than many conventional anticancer drugs by a process called bis-intercalation or “double binding,” much like a molecular staple. Because the DNA is the blueprint of life for the cancer cell, such binding stops the replication of the DNA, which prevents the growth of the cancer cell and it dies.

DNA is present in the nucleus of every cell of all living organisms, which are constantly dividing through a process in which the DNA in the nucleus of the original cell replicates itself to be present in the nuclei of the two new (“daughter”) cells. If this replication cannot occur, the cell will die and the organism will eventually stop growing and die. Cancer is characterized by the development of abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably and have the ability to infiltrate and destroy normal body tissue.

At present, anticancer molecules designed to block the replication of DNA do so through “intercalation,” a mechanism in which the drug inserts itself between one set of adjacent base pairs of the DNA. PhytoMedical believes a more effective anticancer strategy is to design molecules (“bis-intercalators”) that can intercalate simultaneously at two DNA sites, thus further increasing the binding between the drug and the DNA of specific cancer cells in order to stop their replication and ultimately resulting in the death of the cancer cell.

About PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc.

PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: PYTO; Frankfurt Stock Exchange: ET6), together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a pharmaceutical company focused on research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products.

For additional information, please visit www.PhytoMedical.com

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