Alteon Licenses Technology to Avon for Anti-aging Skin Care Product

Alteon Licenses Technology to Avon for Anti-aging Skin Care
Product
Compound Licensed Under Skin Wrinkle Patent 


PARSIPPANY, N.J., June 27  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alteon Inc. (AMEX:ALT)
announced today that it has granted a non-exclusive worldwide license to Avon
Products, Inc. for the use of 2-amino-4,5-dimethylthiazole HBr to improve skin
wrinkles and elasticity.  The compound is to be used in a formulation of the
anti-aging skin care product branded as Anew Alternative Intensive Age
Treatment.

The license to Avon is under United States Patent No. 6,596,744, issued to
Alteon on July 22, 2003, and pending patent applications relating to the use of
select thiazole compounds for the prevention or treatment of wrinkles and/or
loss of elasticity in human skin.  As part of this agreement, Alteon will
receive a modest up-front payment and annual license payments as long as the
product contains the licensed compound.

"We are pleased by this initial relationship in the cosmeceutical arena, and
look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with Avon," said Kenneth I.
Moch, President and CEO.  "While we continue the clinical development of our
lead pharmaceutical candidate alagebrium for vascular diseases, this
collaboration is an example of the potential of our technology in other
therapeutic areas."

About Alteon

Alteon is developing new classes of drugs that have shown the potential to
reverse or slow down diseases of aging and complications of diabetes.  These
compounds appear to have an impact on a fundamental pathological process caused
by the progressive formation of protein-carbohydrate complexes called Advanced
Glycation End-products (A.G.E.s).  The formation and crosslinking of A.G.E.s
lead to a loss of flexibility and function in body tissues and organs and have
been shown to be a causative factor in many age-related diseases and diabetic
complications.  Alteon has created a library of novel classes of compounds
targeting the A.G.E. pathway.  For more on Alteon, please visit our website,
http://www.alteon.com/.

Any statements contained in this press release that relate to future plans,
events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties including, but not limited to, those relating to the potential of
the Company's technology in therapeutic areas other than vascular diseases, the
Company's ability to resume enrollment in its clinical trials, and its
technology and product development (including the possibility that early
clinical trial results may not be predictive of results that will be obtained
in large-scale testing or that any clinical trials will not demonstrate
sufficient safety and efficacy to obtain requisite approvals or will not result
in marketable products), regulatory approval processes, intellectual property
rights and litigation, competitive products, ability to obtain financing, and
other risks identified in Alteon's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.  The information contained in this press release is accurate as of
the date indicated.  Actual results, events or performance may differ
materially.  Alteon undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of
any revision to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect
events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events. 

DATASOURCE: Alteon Inc.



CONTACT:  Susan M. Pietropaolo, Director, Corporate Communications &

Investor Relations, [phone] (direct),  



Web site:  http://www.alteon.com/ 

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