XTLbio RECEIVES REQUEST TO CONVENE SPECIAL MEETING

    XTLbio RECEIVES REQUEST TO CONVENE SPECIAL MEETING

Rehovot, Israel, 9 May 2003 - XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTLbio) reported
today that on 8 May 2003 it received a request to convene a Special Meeting of
Shareholders from a group of shareholders holding 11.3% of the current issued
share capital of the Company (requestors).

The request requires the Board of XTLbio to convene a Special Meeting for the
purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing the following separate
ordinary resolutions:

  * That other than Rusi K. Kathoke and Patricia A. Smith (being the External
    Directors of the Company for the purposes of the Israeli Companies Law -
    1999) each of the current directors will not be re-appointed and that in
    their place Mr. Eli Pery, Dr. Zvi Marom, Mr. Simon Jaffa, Professor Roni
    Aloni and Mr. Adam Teeger be appointed as directors on the Board until the
    closing of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company.
   
  * That the Articles of Association be amended to reduce the minimum number of
    directors on the Board from seven to five.
   
Brief information in relation to Messrs. Pery, Marom, Jaffa, Aloni and Teeger
has been supplied to the Company.

The Board of XTLbio is examining the validity of this request and expects to
seek additional information and further clarification from the requestors in
order to keep shareholders fully informed.

The Board's understanding of the identity of the shareholders who have
requested the Special Meeting, based on documents presented by the requestors,
is as follows:

  * Pershing Keen Nominees Limited (Designation: SHCLT) hold 6,300,000 ordinary
    shares in XTLbio (representing 5.7% of the existing issued share capital of
    the Company) as custodian for various clients of Shore Capital Stockbrokers
    Limited.
   
  * Puma Nominees Limited holds 6,212,339 ordinary shares in XTLbio
    (representing 5.6% of the existing issued share capital of the Company) as
    nominees on behalf of Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited.
   
About XTLbio

XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTLbio) is the drug development company committed
to conquering hepatitis C in our time. 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 Centers 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.

Contacts:

XTLbio

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

Financial Dynamics

David Yates, Tel: [phone]



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