XTLBIO RECEIVES NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING AND $1.2M GRANT

    XTLBIO RECEIVES NOTIFICATION OF REINSTATEMENT OF FUNDING AND $1.2 MILLION GRANT
FROM ISRAEL'S OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST

Rehovot, Israel, 23 July 2003 - XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (XTLbio) today
announced that it has received a grant of $1.2 million from the Office of the
Chief Scientist, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour, State of Israel ("the
Chief Scientist") along with notification from the Chief Scientist that, as the
Company's future direction has now been clarified, all arrangements for funding
will be reinstated and all future grants due to XTLbio will be paid.

Royalties of 3-5 per cent are payable by XTLbio on sales of products developed
from projects funded by the Israeli Government, up to 100 per cent of the
amount of the grant received by the Company with the addition of an annual
interest based on LIBOR. As at 31 December 2002, the maximum royalty amount
payable by the Company was $4.3 million.

Dr Martin Becker, Chief Executive Officer of XTLbio, said:

"We are grateful to the Office of the Chief Scientist for their continued
support. It is an important source of funding towards the development of our
lead projects."

Contacts:

XTLbio

Dr. Martin Becker, President and CEO, Tel: [phone]

Financial Dynamics

David Yates, Sarah MacLeod, Tel: [phone]

About XTLbio

XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTLbio) is a biopharmaceutical company developing
drugs against hepatitis. XTLbio's HepeX(tm) product line - now in clinical trials
- has the potential to introduce revolutionary therapies for viral hepatitis,
including prevention of re-infection in transplanted livers, the Company's
primary focus, and a longer-term cocktail approach in treating chronic illness.
XTLbio believes its primary competitive advantage lies in its patented Trimera(tm)
technology, which enables the development of fully human monoclonal antibodies
and models of human disease for pre-clinical drug validation. Established in
1993, XTLbio became a public company in 2000 with shares traded on the London
Stock Exchange under the symbol XTL.

About hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a major public health concern. The World Health Organization
estimates that 170 million people worldwide are chronic carriers of the
hepatitis C virus (HCV) and that 3 to 4 million people are newly infected each
year. It is expected that 25 to 35% of these chronic patients will develop
progressive liver disease including cirrhosis and liver cancer. Hepatitis C is
the single leading cause of liver transplantation. The US Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention estimate that approximately 4 million people in the
United States (almost 2% of the population) have been infected with HCV, of
whom, approximately 3 million are chronically ill. Hepatitis C is the cause of
an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 deaths annually in the US.

About HCV-related liver transplant prophylaxis

Approximately 5% of chronic HCV patients will develop end-stage liver disease,
and ultimately may require liver transplantation. Today, there is a major
problem associated with HCV-related liver transplantation. Although the
infected liver - the major source of viral replication - has been removed,
free-floating virus in the patient's serum re-infects the healthy transplanted
liver in a matter of weeks. Disease progression in re-infected patients is
several times faster and, in many cases, a re-transplant becomes necessary. At
present, there is no available solution to this problem. The Company estimates
worldwide annual sales potential for HCV liver transplant prophylaxis at US$400
million.

About the treatment of chronic hepatitis C

The existing first-line chronic HCV therapy is often associated with a 50-60%
chance of success but is limited by severe side effects, including anaemia,
fatigue, hair loss and depression. Due to the relatively limited efficacy and
toxicity of this treatment, chronic HCV is still considered an unmet medical
need. Financial analysts estimate that worldwide annual sales for all products
treating chronic hepatitis C could reach US$4 billion in 2004.

HepeX(tm), Trimera(tm), XTL(tm) and XTLbio(tm) are trademarks of XTL Biopharmaceuticals
Ltd.



END