Northfield Laboratories Inc. Joins Russell 3000(R) Index

Northfield Laboratories Inc. Joins Russell 3000(R) Index 


EVANSTON, Ill., June 28  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northfield Laboratories Inc.
has been added to the Russell 3000(R) Index as of June 25, 2004 according to
the final list of additions issued by Russell Investment Group. Membership in
the Russell 3000 means automatic inclusion in either the large-cap Russell
1000(R) Index or small-cap Russell 2000(R) Index.

"We're pleased to be included in the Russell 3000," said Steven A. Gould, M.D.,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  "We've worked hard to raise awareness of
our progress over the past 12 months and are gratified at this recognition of
all we've accomplished."

Membership in Russell's 21 U.S. equity indexes is determined primarily by
market capitalization rankings and style attributes. Russell indexes are widely
used by managers for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active
investment strategies. More than $360 billion is invested in index funds based
on Russell's indexes and an additional $850 billion is benchmarked to them.
Investment managers who oversee these funds purchase shares of member stocks
according to that company's weighting in the particular index.

Annual reconstitution of the Russell indexes captures the 3,000 largest U.S.
stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization to
create the Russell 3000. The largest 1,000 companies in the ranking comprise
the Russell 1000 Index while the remaining 2,000 companies become the widely
used Russell 2000 Index.

About Northfield Laboratories

Northfield Laboratories Inc. is the leader in developing an oxygen- carrying
blood substitute, PolyHeme(R), for the treatment of urgent, large volume blood
loss in trauma and resultant surgical settings.  PolyHeme(R) is a solution of
chemically modified human hemoglobin that requires no cross matching and is
therefore compatible with all blood types.  It has a shelf life of over 12
months.  Enrollment is currently underway in a pivotal Phase III trial of
PolyHeme(R) in the pre-hospital setting. For further information, visit the
website at http://www.northfieldlabs.com/.

About Russell

Russell, a global leader in multi-manager investment services, provides
investment products and services in more than 35 countries.  Russell manages
more than $107 billion in assets and advises clients worldwide representing
$1.8 trillion.  Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual
and is headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., with additional offices in New York,
Toronto, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Auckland and Tokyo.  For more
information, go to http://www.russell.com/.

Statements in this release that are not strictly historical are "forward-
looking" statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, which may cause the company's actual results
in the future to differ materially from expected results. These risks include,
among others: competition from other blood substitute products; the company's
ability to obtain regulatory approval to market PolyHeme(R) commercially; the
availability of capital to finance the company's planned clinical trials and
ongoing business operations; the company's and/or its representative's ability
to successfully market and sell PolyHeme(R); the company's ability to
manufacture PolyHeme(R) in sufficient quantities; the company's ability to
obtain an adequate supply of raw materials; the company's ability to maintain
intellectual property protection for its proprietary product and to defend its
existing intellectual property rights from challenges by third parties; the
extent to which the hospitals and physicians using PolyHeme(R) are able to
obtain third-party reimbursement; and the other risks and uncertainties 
described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

   Steven A. Gould, M.D.                       Sharon L. Weinstein
   Chairman and Chief Executive Officer        [phone]
   [phone]                              

   Sophia H. Twaddell
   Vice President, Corporate Communications
   [phone]
   

DATASOURCE: Northfield Laboratories Inc.



CONTACT:  Steven A. Gould, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, or

Sophia H. Twaddell, Vice President, Corporate Communications,

, both of Northfield Laboratories Inc.,

[phone]; Sharon L. Weinstein, [phone],

, for Northfield Laboratories Inc.



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

http://www.russell.com/ 

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